Bureau of Customs (BoC) Commissioner Alberto Lina vowed yesterday to continue the reforms that he initiated at the agency, saying he will not be deterred from doing so by the smuggling syndicates who want him to fail.
Lina said that although he faces a gargantuan task in attaining the BoC’s R170-billion collection target for 2005, he is confident that the changes he introduced will improve the efficiency and enhance the reputation of the Customs bureau.
The Customs chief disclosed that aside from increasing revenues, eradicating corruption in the BoC remains a top priority of his administration.
He said he is determined to stop irregularities in the bureau which has been blamed for the government’s loss of billions of pesos in unpaid duties and taxes.
Lina added that his policy of transferring or dismissing undesirable Customs employees will not be relaxed, adding that he will not hesitate to ban from transacting in the bureau importers or brokers who drop his name and that of other ranking government officials.
Lina also cited the success of the BoC’s computerization project which is now acclaimed as one of the best in Asia.
He said that in the near future, a no-human-hands transaction system will be implemented in the BoC, making its operations more transparent and graft-free.
Since assuming the top BoC post in late February, Lina has reactivated the bureau’s Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) unit as part of the agency’s drive against smuggling.
