Some 6,013 applications flooded the Philippine Bureau of Customs (BOC) as applicants from all over the country vied for the 1,056 plantilla positions available in the BOC’s main office and its various collection districts.
The total excluded applications that did not meet the basic requirements, submissions after the August 6 deadline, and emailed applications.
According to the BOC’s Internal Administration Group (IAG), majority of the applications (4,364) were from Luzon. The rest were from the Visayas (702) and Mindanao (947).
The applications are now undergoing preliminary screening to determine if they meet all the minimum qualifications such as education, experience, training, and eligibility for the position.
Those who pass the initial screening will be notified via a text message or email notice from the BOC between August 18 and August 24. Passers are required to take the pre-employment general ability examination of the Civil Service Commission (CSC) on August 31.
Those who pass the CSC hurdle will then take aptitude and psychometric tests, which will “greatly help the bureau in eliminating future employees who are susceptible to graft and corrupt practices,” BOC in a statement.
To thwart nepotism, applicants with relatives in the BOC up to the fourth degree of consanguinity are barred from applying in accordance with the Administrative Code (Executive Order No. 292).
Candidates who pass the general ability and aptitude exams will then undergo competency-based tests by the BOC to further gauge their fitness to perform specific duties. A physical fitness test will also be conducted for applicants for the Intelligence and Enforcement groups.
The new BOC hiring process is in line with the revised guidelines and procedure in hiring and promoting personnel for first and second level positions under Customs Memorandum Order (CMO) 15-2014. The CMO aims to simplify the guidelines, widen the sphere of selection, and clarify the procedure for screening to get the most qualified applicants.
The country’s second largest revenue-generating agency only has about 3,600 employees, or about half of its actual plantilla size of about 7,000, compelling most employees to take on double duties. The BOC said the lack of manpower is further aggravated by attrition factors like retirement, death, and dismissal from service.
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