Philippine Customs Commissioner Isidro Lapeña has reiterated that priority must be placed on the examination and disposition of shipments covered by alert orders.
The customs chief, in a memorandum dated December 7, reminded district collectors and all others concerned of this prioritization, which is pursuant to Customs Memorandum Order (CMO) No. 20-2017.
Issued last October to fast-track the issuance and lifting of alert orders and stop corruption, CMO 20-2017 amends several sections of CMO 35-2015, which provides the revised rules on electronic/manual issuance and lifting of alert orders at all ports of entry.
In the December memo, Lapeña referred to Section V paragraph 5.5 of CMO 35-2015, which states that “examination of shipments with alert order shall be given priority.”
“Any undue delay in the examination of shipments with alert orders shall be a ground for administrative and/or criminal action against the officer or personnel causing the delay,” it added.
Section VI paragraph 6.4 of the same CMO also noted that any undue delay in disposing of alert orders shall also be ground for administrative and/or criminal action against the delaying officer or personnel.
CMO 20-2017 Section 6.1, meanwhile, states: “The approval of the district collector of the recommendation which results to the release of the shipment shall be forwarded through the fastest means available to the Commissioner of Customs for automatic review within twenty-four (24) hours.”
After confirmation by the customs commissioner, the goods subject to the alert order shall be immediately released, provided that complete staff work (CSW) has been undertaken to guide the BOC chief’s decision, CMO 20-2017 added. Under CSW, a system instituted in BOC last October, staff members or offices work out the details of a task or activity by themselves, so as not to bother the decision-maker with having to sift through documents and details.
CMO 20-2017 was issued following Lapeña’s earlier statement that stakeholders should no longer be afraid of receiving alert orders because processing the alerts will be fast-tracked to facilitate trade and avoid corruption. He had noted that customs stakeholders feared getting alert orders because it would “take an eternity before it is lifted.”
Last November, Lapeña issued CMO 29-2017, which provides a new list of officials authorized to issue alert orders.
These include the customs commissioner or his authorized representative, the deputy commissioner for Intelligence Group, and all district collectors for shipments arriving within their district. – Roumina Pablo
