- The Bureau of Customs issued 1,153 show-cause orders in 2021 that led to the dismissal, suspension, relief, and reshuffling of errant employees
- Three employees were dismissed, 17 suspended, six reprimanded, 19 relieved, and 721 reshuffled or transferred due to irregular and unlawful activities
- BOC also filed 44 administrative cases before the BOC-Legal Service, and transmitted 14 cases to the National Bureau of Investigation and four to the Ombudsman
The Bureau of Customs (BOC) issued 1,153 show-cause orders in 2021 that led to the dismissal, suspension, relief, and reshuffling of errant employees.
BOC in a statement said three employees were dismissed, 17 were suspended, six reprimanded and 19 relieved while 721 were reshuffled or transferred to various offices and ports due to irregular and unlawful activities.
The Customs Intelligence and Investigation Service also conducted 133 personnel investigations that resulted in the filing of 44 administrative cases before the BOC-Legal Service.
Consequently, BOC transmitted 14 cases to the National Bureau of Investigation and four to the Ombudsman.
BOC said this development is attributed to its various initiatives against corruption, including the signing on March 30, 2021 of an anti-corruption manifesto by all officials and personnel of the agency.
Further, with guidance from the Presidential Anti-Corruption Commission (PACC), the BOC-PACC Command Group and the BOC’s Anti-Corruption Coordinating Committees were created to oversee the anti-corruption campaign within the bureau and serve as a holistic way of suppressing corruption.
READ: BOC launches anti-corruption command group
BOC also enrolled in the Integrity Development Program of the World Customs Organization, receiving a 70% favorable rating based on responses from both internal and external stakeholders.
BOC since 2019 has been enrolled in the Institute for Solidarity in Asia’s 4-Stage Performance Governance System (PGS), a framework for designing and executing long-term reform roadmaps that cull global best practices in managing strategy to meet the rising needs of public sector institutions. Since then, BOC said it has consecutively bagged the Gold Governance Trailblazer awards as it passed the first three stages of the PGS. The agency said it aims to carry this momentum until it completes the final stage to ensure that reforms are truly achieved.
BOC continues to undertake the ISO 9001:2015 Quality Management System Certification for its units and offices. In 2021, nine BOC collection districts, subports, and offices were awarded with ISO 9001:2015 certifications, while the rest are in various stages of the ISO compliance process.
