BOC ‘Water Patrol Division,’ a reality, finally
Rules on use of body cameras issued; 2 more traders sued
THE Bureau of Customs under Comm. Rey Leonardo Guerrero, continues to improve its operational efficiency and mandate on effective border control with the delivery of the first batch of 20 fast patrol boats this month of September that would compose the water assets of its ‘Water Patrol Division.’
Last September 20, 2021, Guerrero accompanied Department of Finance (DOF) secretary, Carlos Dominguez, in the inspection and testing of the 12.7-meter boats equipped with three powerful engine that could reach 45 knots (more than 83 kilometers per hour) at top speed.
Also in attendance are Deputy Commissioner for Internal Administration Group (IAG) Donato B. San Juan and, Enforcement Group (EG), Deputy Commissioner Teddy S. Raval, who would have direct supervision over the WPD’s operations.
In preparation for the crafts’ arrival, the EG, last July 12, 2021, initiated a 25-day training course for the 29 officers and members of the Customs Police (Enforcement Security Service), who have been chosen to comprise the initial personnel for the WPD.
The training course was in partnership with the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) and the bureau’s ‘Interim Training and Development Division’ (ITDD).
“We expect the 25-day course to equip our water patrol personnel with knowledge on basic navigation, boat handling and maneuvering as well as boat operations and maintenance,” Raval said at the time (see also Pinoy Exposé, Volume 2, Issue No. 28).
The plan to create a ‘Water Patrol Division’ for the BOC has been the talk at the waterfront since the time of Comm. Guillermo Parayno, in 1992, during the term of Pres. Fidel Ramos as part of his ‘Customs Modernization Program’ but nothing came out of it, until Guerrero became customs chief in October 2018.
Rules on use of body cameras
As a further boost to its operational efficiency and transparency, the BOC also announced that it had finalized the rules its personnel shall follow in the use of body-worn cameras under Customs Memorandum Order (CMO) 33-2021.
The release of the regulation came just some three weeks after the 200 body cameras it procured was delivered by the Philippine International Trading Corporation (PITC) last August 27, 2021 (see also Pinoy Exposé Volume 2, Issue No. 33).
The said CMO governs the use of body-worn cameras as a “standard equipment” in the exercise of customs police authority and in the conduct of other customs operations.
It mandates that its use shall be mandatory under customs operations such as:
Controlled delivery operation, guarding duty at customs import gates, hot pursuit, inspection of consignees’ offices, search of persons arriving from foreign countries, search of vehicles and other carriers, persons, and animals;
Atty. Vincent ‘Jett’ Maronilla, BOC spokesperson, assured that in crafting CMO 33-2021, the BOC is guided by the provisions of RA 10173, otherwise known as the ‘Data Privacy Act of 2012.’
Search on vessels or aircrafts and persons or goods conveyed therein, and regular customs operations such as boarding formalities, disposition of goods such as auction and condemnation of goods, and the non-intrusive and physical examination of goods.
The devices can record video and voice as well as serve as a communication device between the user and the monitoring facility.
The delivered units came with 17 ‘docking stations’ and can be monitored remotely and in real time by the Customs Operation Center (COC).
The use of body worn cameras by customs personnel is pursuant to Title II Chapter 3 of RA 10863 also known as the Customs Modernization and Tariff Act (CMTA).
Atty. Vincent ‘Jett’ Maronilla, BOC spokesperson, assured that in crafting CMO 33-2021, the BOC is guided by the provisions of RA 10173, otherwise known as the ‘Data Privacy Act of 2012.’
Meanwhile, the bureau’s Action Team Against Smugglers (BATAS) confirmed that it has filed two more smuggling cases against two traders and their customs brokers before the Department of Justice (DOJ) last September 21, 2021.
Charged for the foiled smuggling of cigarettes worth more than P107.7 million at the Port of Subic last July was, ‘Bonver Consumer Goods Trading.’
The second to be charged was the ‘LMRC 418 Direct Import Export Corporation’ also for the foiled smuggling of 2 container vans of cigarettes at the Port of Cagayan de Oro last February 2, 2021.
Both respondents, BATAS said, violated RA 10863, otherwise known as the Customs Modernization and Tariff Act (CMTA) in relation to CMO 20-2006; Tax Reform Acceleration and Inclusion Law; National Tobacco Administration (NTA) Board Resolution 079-2005; National Tobacco Memorandum Circular No. 03, s. 2004; and the Intellectual Property Code of the Philippines.
With the filing, BATAS has thus far tallied 222 individuals for smuggling involving 71 cases before the DOJ since the start of the year.
