The Philippine Bureau of Customs has appointed eight district collectors to replace officers – all retired generals — detailed from the Office of Revenue Agency Modernization (ORAM) whose budget was disapproved by Congress in the General Appropriations Act for 2016.
This development comes before the March 25 effectivity of the election ban on the appointment, hiring or promotion of government officials.
Except for Limay port’s Rolando R. Ricafrente whose next-in-rank is still being considered, the retired generals were replaced by their next-in-rank.
The other new appointees are as follows:
It may be recalled that in 2013, the Department of Finance reassigned Customs district collectors to the Customs Policy Research Office (CPRO) and put in their place retired generals forming the ORAM tasked to implement systems and process enhancements designed to improve revenue revenues based on their “integrity, management skills and capabilities.”
“It’s important to note that the Department of Finance and the Bureau of Customs have extensively defended ORAM during the budget hearings to retain it,” said Customs Commissioner Alberto Lina in a statement.
“We trust that the next-in-line officers know the Tariff and Customs Code of the Philippines by heart – the appropriate Customs valuations and assessments, and duties and taxes. We also need a strengthened push in terms of our investigations against smugglers and getting convictions,” Lina added.
Meanwhile, Internal Administration Group officer-in-charge Jesusa Dimpna Lejos was also replaced by Collection Service OIC Exequiel Cempron.
