How do you fix the Bureau of Customs? Start from scratch, says Biazon

Heading one of the country’s most notoriously corrupt government agencies seems to be taking its toll on Bureau of Customs Commissioner Rufino "Ruffy" Biazon. He admitted the likelihood of his resignation on Monday night’s episode of "Bawal ang Pasaway kay Mareng Winnie," hosted by Prof. Solita "Winnie" Monsod. "If there is a case na aalis ako, malaki rin 'yung reason na because I want to go already, dahil sa nae-experience [ko,]" Biazon said. The bureau has had to deal with rampant smuggling and corrupt employees for years. In 2011, a Pulse Asia survey placed it the sixth most corrupt government agency in the Philippines. Some have even taken to calling it "the Bureau of Corruption." Biazon said he has accepted the critique. "Ang environment ng Customs ngayon ay 'yan na 'yung environent simula noong ibang dekada na," he said. "Kumbaga nasemento, pero tulad ng semento, pwede namang biyakin at masira. Kailangan lang ng sapat na puwersa at paraan para putulin yung tinatawag na kalakaran," Biazon added. But despite his thoughts on resigning, Biazon believes the BOC is not a hopeless case. "Ang kailangan lang talaga, makita natin yung problema," he said. Starting from scratch? One option, said Biazon, is to abolish the agency and rebuild it from scratch. If he had his way, he said, he would push for an "entire change of personnel." "Culture 'yung kalaban doon eh, tsaka nakasanayan na," Biazon said. He also wants to amend the basic law on Customs. "We update our procedures and processes, which are all outdated," he said. Another option, he told Monsod, is the full automation of BOC transactions, which would "reduce the opportunities for connivance atsaka yung exercise of discretion." Asked to choose between the two options, Biazon admitted, "I'm more [for] the radical solution"—such as dismantling the bureau and starting afresh. "Pero it's just...my opinion." Last year the BOC, the Philippines' second largest revenue-collecting agency after the Bureau of Internal Revenue, fell short of its collection target of P347 billion by around P60 billion. — Mara Cepeda/BM, GMA News