The Philippine Bureau of Customs (BOC) is asking the Chamber of Customs Brokers, Inc. (CCBI) to police its own ranks to help in the fight against smuggling and illicit trade, even as the chamber said it has reconstituted its disciplinary committee to do just that.
“My one wish from all of you is I hope that you police your ranks so that you can help us, the bureau, with our program,” BOC Deputy Commissioner for Intelligence Teddy Sandy Raval said during the recent induction of CCBI officers, which he officiated.
BOC Deputy Commissioner for Enforcement Group Ariel Nepomuceno, in an interview with PortCalls during the event, explained that since customs brokers play a crucial role in trade facilitation, “it is assumed that to do that job they have to be part of the present pressure” and that “it should be highlighted with integrity and efficiency.”
“Customs should do that and customs brokers should do that,” Nepomuceno said, adding that “they’re (customs brokers are) doing a good job but there’s always room to do their job better.”
Committee on discipline
CCBI national president Atty Ferdinand Nague in a speech said their board has revived the committee on discipline to help cleanse the customs brokers’ ranks.
He added that BOC, through the Accounts Management Office (AMO), has agreed to provide CCBI a list of alleged erring customs brokers. The list will be used by CCBI to call upon alleged erring customs brokers to explain why they should not be disciplined not just for violating customs laws, but also for violating customs brokers’ Code of Ethics and Code of Technical Standards.
Nague said that if the committee finds that violations were committed, CCBI can pursue a case with the Professional Regulatory Board for Customs Brokers.
He admitted there are bad eggs in all organization, “and that’s what we will eradicate.”
Earlier he said CCBI was set to meet with Revenue Collection and Monitoring Group (RCMG) Deputy Commissioner Natalio Ecarma III to tackle the issue of show cause orders and the suspension of accreditation of erring customs brokers, noting that they find the process to be “unfair.” AMO, which processes the accreditation and suspension of importers and customs brokers, is under the Legal Service of the RCMG.
Since January 2017, BOC has been posting online the lists of importers and customs brokers who have been issued show cause orders, are under investigation, or have been prohibited from reactivating their expired accreditation for possible violation of customs rules and laws.
Nague claimed that the current procedure of suspending the accreditation of customs brokers is “not fair” because it is the importers, not the customs brokers, that supposedly violate customs rules.
He explained that customs brokers do not own the goods, nor are they part of the importation process. Customs brokers also do not know the real contents of the shipments and only rely on what importers tell them, he added.
The essence of the warrant of seizure and detention, which has been the basis for some of the suspensions, is limited to the property or the goods, which customs brokers do not own, he further stated.
Nague said customs may investigate or charge customs brokers if they “did some hanky panky or they violated something, like they falsified the documents, they changed the invoice, but the Bureau of Customs should prove that.”
However, AMO chief Atty. Mary Grace Malabed told PortCalls they do observe due process, and recommend suspension only when importers or customs brokers fail to respond or provide sufficient answer as to why they should not be suspended. – Roumina Pablo
