BOC reassigns 3 officials and 142 Intelligence Group personnel

MANILA — A major revamp was recently implemented by the Bureau of Customs (BOC) involving three officials and more than 140 employees.

Under Customs Personnel Order (CPO) No. B-40-2014, the three ranking Customs officials—Rolando Sacramento, Chief of the Intelligence Division of CIIS; Limay District Collector Elvira Cruz; and Customs Intelligence Officer Jimmy Guban were ordered transferred to the Customs Policy Research Office (CPRO) under the Department of Finance.

Another order, CPO No. B-42-2014, has reassigned 142 officials and employees, which is 80 percent of the personnel of the Intelligence Group (IG) of the bureau.

Charo Logarta Lagamon, acting chief of the BOC’s Public Information and Assistance Division, said the reassignment is in line with the operational direction of the Deputy Commissioner Jessie Dellosa to reinvigorate all units of Customs Intelligence and Investigation Service (CIIS) in the Districts, and to make the IG responsive and capable of supporting the reform thrusts of the Commissioner.

“Unavoidably, many of the IG personnel will be dislodged from their comfort zones. But in order for the IG to be responsive and relevant in this period of renewal, the group’s leadership recognizes the need for their personnel to develop greater situational awareness in the different Collection Districts,” she said.

The massive rotation involves not only IG personnel in the 17 major Collection Districts but also the different Divisions of the CIIS.

Commissioner John Sevilla signed both CPOs and were approved by Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima, which is effective immediately.

Logarta explained that the shuffle has been under study as early as January this year, as the group began reviewing the staffing and deployment patterns both at the main headquarters and the Customs frontlines.

She added Dellosa sought approval for a massive rotation as many of the personnel have been in their assignments and positions for many years.

“The personnel rotation initiative, however, is not a stand-alone program as IG has given equal importance to other interventions that impact on the overall intent of strengthening the frontlines,” the BOC official said.

After stepping-up intelligence and enforcement activities in September 2013, the BOC has issued over 1,000 Alert Orders on various types of shipments nationwide, about 80% of which were found to have been misdeclared, had discrepancies in weight or volume or were found to be liable for additional duties and taxes.

These efforts, including closer coordination with other government agencies, have also resulted in higher amounts of seizures of prohibited and restricted imports with over P5.7-Billion in counterfeit goods seized from January to March 2014.