Outgoing Philippine Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima has said the incoming administration will sign off on all policy actions being worked on by his agency, including those related to the implementing rules and regulations (IRR) of the just-signed Customs Modernization and Tariff Act (CMTA).
In a statement, Purisima asked all concerned Department of Finance (DOF) officials to “clear all policy actions with the transition team of incoming Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez.”
He said the staff work should be completed for Dominguez to “review, revise, and finalize according to his policy priorities.”
Dominguez had earlier called Customs commissioner Alberto Lina upon learning that the IRR for the CMTA was already being prepared.
READ: PH Customs modernization act signed into law
A public consultation on the CMTA IRR called by the Bureau of Customs (BOC), an attached agency of the DOF, went ahead as scheduled on June 7 and 8.
“I told him [Lina] not to tie my hands. He can put it [IRR] out, but if he ties my hands, our hands, or Faeldon’s hands, that he [Faeldon] cannot do certain things, there’s going to be hell to pay,” Dominguez had said.
Nicanor Faeldon will replace Lina at the BOC.
The CMTA or Republic Act No. 10863 or “An Act Modernizing the Customs and Tariff Administration” updates the Tariff and Customs Code of the Philippines (TCCP) and overhauls BOC operations. It simplifies and harmonizes customs procedures, pushes for full customs automation, and aligns the TCCP with international standards and practices, ultimately making it easier for traders, importers and exporters to comply with border requirements.
Purisima said he instructed the DOF to let Dominguez review in advance and approve the issuance of the IRRs for the CMTA, Tax Incentives Monitoring and Transparency Act, as well as the Microfinance NGOs Act.
Purisima said he believed that Dominguez, who will be at the helm of implementing these laws as the next finance chief, ought to have a say on the concerned IRRs being finalized.
“When we in the DOF say public service is a relay race, we mean it: we don’t drop the baton when our time is up only for the next team to start over. Operationalizing professionalism means that our job until the end of June is to make life as easy as possible for the incoming team to hit the ground running on day one,” the outgoing Finance chief said.
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