President Rodrigo Duterte wants the more than 60 Bureau of Customs (BOC) officials and employees allegedly involved in corrupt practices to be transferred to Congress to help with the paperwork.
“All of them will go out from the premise of the customs area. I do not want them back,” Duterte said in his State of the Nation Address (SONA) on July 22.
Deviating from his prepared speech, Duterte recalled his meeting last week with the involved BOC officials and employees, saying 63 are facing criminal charges and 61 are under investigation.
He also asked Congress to help him rid the agency of them. “I hope I have the cooperation of Congress. If we cannot abolish their position and if I cannot dismiss them for the reason that there is a security of tenure, I will just allow them to have their plantilla positions but they have to report to Congress every day to help me in the huge paperwork that we have to do every day,” he said.
Duterte in a speech last July 11 had told 64 Customs officials and employees allegedly involved in corrupt practices to “resign, or I’ll file charges.” He then met with the BOC officials and employees in Malacañang on July 18 to once again ask them to resign or face charges before the Ombudsman.
Presidential spokesperson Salvador Panelo, in a statement after the July 18 meeting, said administrative charges over allegations of corrupt practices in office will be filed against the involved BOC officials and employees at the Office of the Ombudsman, “unless they opt to resign.”
“The President has been forthright in telling these customs officials and employees that corruption has no place under his watch. He told them that consistent with due process, they will be given their day in court,” Panelo noted.
Pending the filing of cases, Panelo said the BOC officials and employees will be placed on floating status without authority to act on official matters.
Meanwhile, Duterte during the SONA also noted that BOC, “despite being corruption-ridden,” managed to collect P585 billion in revenues in 2018.
“Imagine how much more could have been collected had the BOC been clean and less corrupt,” Duterte stated.
BOC in 2018 collected P585.542 billion, beating its annual revenue collection target of P584.881 billion by 0.1%.
