Melvin Estoque, who headed the Bureau of Customs’ (BOC) Account Management Office, the unit that handles the accreditation of importers and customs brokers, has returned to the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) following the termination of his temporary detail order.
In a memorandum dated January 24 and signed January 29, Customs Commissioner Isidro Lapeña said the detail of Estoque, who joined BOC on August 31, 2017 to assist in the transition of the new leadership, has been terminated effective last January 23.
“More than four months since his detail, several systems and processes [have] already been put in place and his services are no longer necessary,” Lapeña said.
In a letter to PDEA director general Aaron Aquino, the BOC chief said he has terminated Estoque’s detail “in recognition and in support of the challenges being faced by the PDEA as the sole agency in the war against drugs.”
Estoque was from Regional Office VII of PDEA, which Lapeña headed prior to his posting at BOC. The customs commissioner has recognized in several statements the improvements in BOC’s Account Management Office (AMO) under Estoque’s watch.
Lapeña earlier said the processing of the registration of importers and customs brokers now only takes two hours if required documents are complete. This is compared to the five-day processing time ordered by Lapeña, and to the weeks and months of waiting time that had been experienced previously by applicants.
He also noted in October last year that under Estoque, the 1,200 pending applications had been whittled down to 400.
Customs Intelligence and Investigation Service (CIIS) director Adzhar Albani is currently office-in-charge of AMO, which together with CIIS is under the Intelligence Group of BOC. – Roumina Pablo
