BOC to business community: ‘Your support is critical’

THE Bureau of Customs (BOC) urged the country’s largest business groups (BOC) to continue supporting the agency in its effort towards transformation and modernization for better and integrity-driven government service.

At the virtual ‘Business Summit’ last March 17, 2022 organized by the Makati Business Club jointly with the Management Association of the Philippines (MAP) and, Financial Executives Institute of the Philippines (FINEX), the BOC, headed by Comm. Rey Leonardo Guerrero, was given the opportunity to showcase the success of its many reforms towards becoming a more transparent, responsive, modern, and world-class customs administration.

“With a change in administration looming on the horizon, it is critical for business and industry to understand, appreciate and support these programs for our country to hurdle and recover from the challenges that we are currently facing,” Guerrero told the participants that also include other industry and stakeholders’ organizations, the general public and members of the press.

On his assumption as customs chief in October 2018, Guerrero guided the BOC into joining the PGS (Performance Governance System) that not only enable the agency to combat smuggling and weed out corruption more effectively but also, change public perception about it.

Various projects were also implemented—and continue to be implemented—to promote quality service, integrity and efficiency within the entire organization.

Guerrero maintained that his initiatives has effectively laid down the framework for the next administration to move the BOC towards an integrity-driven governance.

Dr. Jesus Estanislao, a former finance secretary and founder and chair-emeritus of the Institute for Solidarity in Asia (ISA) and Institute of Corporate Directors (ICD), underscored the BOC’s positive rating on the recent survey conducted by an independent body.

“Unknown to many people and already reported by Commissioner Guerrero is that the process of transformation takes a long time to get into the general public.

But what I consider as a very important first step is the 92 percent positive rating that the Bureau of Customs got from an independent survey made of the immediate stakeholders of the BOC,” Estanislao said.

“These are the importers and exporters that the Bureau has day-to-day transactions with.

92 percent positive rating on the transformation program — it tells a lot, it speaks a lot, it speaks volumes,” Estanislao stressed.

“We in the Business community,” he added, “must somehow voice out our sentiment, our expressions of support, and our demand that all of these transformation programs initiated since two years ago should be sustained in the next six years whoever will be the new Customs Commissioner.”

In a related development, the BOC, in a separate statement, said that 12 BOC offices are now ISO 9001:2015 certified.

The ISO 9001:2015 is a widely known and internationally accepted standard for quality management and recognizes organizations with a QMS that consistently provide services that meet customer and regulatory requirements.

Within the first quarter of 2022, two of the BOC’s Customer Care Centers (CCC) had already been certified. This includes the CCC at Subic Port and in Limay, Bataan, which successfully passed the ISO-QMS requirements last January 18, 2022 and March 9, 2022, respectively.

The BOC-Port of Legazpi also obtained its ISO Certification on March 15, 2022.

Moreover, the Subport of Mactan was able to pass the 1st External Surveillance Audit on February 23, 2022.

Meanwhile, the Port of Batangas will undergo their 3rd Recertification Audit on March 31, 2022.

The Port of Tacloban also aims to ace the External Audit Stage 2 and acquire another ISO Certification for BOC which is scheduled on April 11, 2022.

The upgrading of service standard for all BOC offices is part of Guerrero’s ’10-Point Priority Program’ for 2022 under its ‘Integrity Development and Quality Management’ category.