The Philippine Bureau of Customs (BOC) has consolidated all its litigation functions to its Legal Service office to intensify the unit’s role in the agency’s anti-smuggling efforts.
Customs Memorandum Order (CMO) No. 09-2017, signed by Customs commissioner Nicanor Faeldon on February 10, centralizes, integrates, and harmonizes the prosecution function of various offices, units, divisions, and ad-hoc bodies in BOC to the Legal Service, an office under the Revenue Collection and Monitoring Group.
The centralization was pursuant to Executive Order (EO) No. 724, which reorganizes certain functions within BOC to make it more responsive to the intensified anti-smuggling thrusts of the government.
The CMO transfers the prosecution functions of the following offices and programs to the Legal Service: Investigation and Prosecution Division, Internal Inquiry and Prosecution Division, Customs Intelligence and Investigation Service (CIIS), and Enforcement and Security Service; offices and units under the Office of the Director of the ESS that are performing prosecution functions; and the Run After the Smugglers (RATS) Program. These offices are under the Intelligence Group and Enforcement Group of BOC.
All case folders, files, and records of these offices pertaining to the prosecution of criminal and administrative/seizure cases should be inventoried and docketed before they are turned over to the Legal Service.
With the RATS program transferred to Legal Service, the RATS Group is abolished and dissolved, all its personnel ordered are to return to their mother units, and all its cases must be turned over to Legal Service.
BOC has also created, under the direct control and supervision of the director of Legal Service, the Bureau’s Action Team Against Smugglers (BATAS). The team will have three groups: Prosecution/Litigation, Case Evaluation, and Profiling.
BATAS can recommend alert/hold orders, carry out alert/hold and mission orders, or Letter of Authority issued by the Customs commissioner, and other functions as may be assigned by the customs chief.
It will handle all seizure, forfeiture, and administrative cases; cases involving customs brokers, importers, freight forwarders, and consolidators, including their agents and representatives; cases involving BOC officials and employees; and civil cases.
Under the Customs Modernization and Tariff Act, the director of Legal Service is deputized and authorized to issue subpoenas relating to any case being investigated or pending before the office.
An Information System Management Office will also be created to monitor all incoming and outgoing communications, keep records, and preserve integrity of evidence in the prosecution of cases.
An amount of P2 million is to be initially allocated to Legal Service for the inventory, cataloguing, and transfer of case folders, files and records, as well as for docketing and the provision of office supplies and complement of the director of the office.
Meanwhile, the Accounts Management Office (AMO), the accreditation unit of BOC, has once again been transferred, this time to be under the Legal Service, just five days after it was moved to CIIS.
Faeldon signed CMO 08-2017, which returns AMO to Legal Service, a few days after he signed CMO 07-2017 on January 27, which returned AMO to CIIS. AMO in September last year had already been transferred to the Legal Service, a month after the accreditation unit was transferred from the Intelligence Group to the Office of the Commissioner.
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