President Arroyo orders Customs revamp

MANILA, Philippines - President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has ordered a revamp of the Bureau of Customs (BoC) accreditation committee after the agency filed cases against importer Rubills Philippines for supposedly smuggling P31.7 million worth of wheat flour. Speaking before members of the Federation of Philippine Industries (FPI), Mrs. Arroyo said an importer, whom she did not identify, was repeatedly caught smuggling, prompting her to question why the smuggler had been accredited. "I called up Customs, and you know earlier when we were in Customs there was a name that keep frequently coming up among the importers, about three cases, successive, that with the reports from industry or with our spot checks they came out and now charges are being filed against them," she said. "I said, the problem is how did they get accredited to begin with? You see [Customs Commissioner Napoleon Morales] reorganized the Accreditation Committee, because precisely as I said, how come this guy gets caught three times in a row?" Mrs. Arroyo said the new accreditation committee will include representatives from the FPI. She also called the private sector not to tolerate the corrupt practices of some Customs employees. "The principle of ’no buyers, no sellers’ — if there are no buyers, there will be no sellers — applies not only to smuggled goods. It also applies to the anti-corruption program. So, I ask the FPI to make sure that the private sector does not seek slight favors’ from your working friends in the Customs," the President said. Before attending the FPI event, Mrs. Arroyo visited the BoC main office in Manila to order the filing of charges against smugglers, including Rubills. BoC officials told her that the P31.7 million worth of what flour in 55 20-foot container vans consigned to Rubills had been forfeited. - BusinessWorld