Philippine Customs Commissioner Isidro Lapeña has set a mandatory response time for Bureau of Customs (BOC) officers to act on official communication in a bid to fast-track the processing of documents.
Customs Memorandum Order (CMO) No. 24-2017, signed on October 23 and with immediate effect, sets a “5-day mandatory timeframe to respond to all clients, be it external or internal.”
The new directive is in line with President Rodrigo Duterte’s order to government agencies to shorten the processing time for letters, requests, and permits. It is also pursuant to Republic Act (RA) No. 6713 (Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards from Public Officials and Employees), RA 9845 (Anti-Red Tape Act of 2007), and the directive of Cabinet Secretary Leoncio Evasco.
CMO 24-2017 covers all groups, districts, offices, and personnel of BOC that handle or act on communication/memoranda including, but not limited to, written or verbal communication, correspondence to and from other agencies, inter-office memo, completed staff work, and all other forms not specifically covered by RA 6713 and RA 9845.
Communication letters, requests, and other permits shall be acted on by the concerned office within five days of receipt of documents.
Failure to comply with the provisions of CMO 24-2017 may be a ground for administrative and disciplinary sanctions on any erring public officer or employee as provided under existing laws and regulations.
Lapeña, in a speech before BOC employees during the flag-raising ceremony on October 23, said, “When there’s delay, there is grease money.”
Lapeña observed that delays prompt importers to resort to bribery and to look for people “who can facilitate their shipments and documents.” He added that stakeholders also resort to benchmarking, which he said is one of the reasons why BOC cannot hit its revenue targets.
Aside from issuing CMO 24-2017, Lapeña also ordered BOC’s Account Management Office (AMO) to streamline its procedures for registering importers and customs brokers.
“Once documents are complete, the processing time shall start and it should not exceed five days,” the BOC chief said.
Lapeña earlier said he had received reports that it took weeks and even months for AMO to process registrations. Delayed approval of an application, he said, may tempt employees to commit corruption if applicants resort to bribery in order to get their papers approved more quickly. The AMO chief was also recently replaced.
The customs chief said applicants can proceed to the Office of the Commissioner if their permits are still not released by AMO after the five-day timeframe.
With these orders, Lapeña said, “the Bureau of Customs is now two steps in eradicating the century-practice of graft and corruption in the agency.”
He also challenged BOC personnel to deliver people-friendly public service. “As public servants, we have to deliver what we are supposed to perform,” the customs chief said.
Image courtesy of Stuart Miles at FreeDigitalPhotos.net
