PRESIDENT Rodrigo R. Duterte has officially sworn into office retired Armed Forces chief Rey Leonardo “Jagger” B. Guerrero as the new head of the Bureau of Customs (BoC), replacing Isidro S. Lapeña after P11 billion worth of shabu, or methamphetamine hydrochloride, was found last August to have entered the Philippines under his watch.
Mr. Duterte administered the oath of office to Mr. Guerrero on Tuesday at the Presidential Guest House in Davao City.
Also in the same day, Mr. Duterte swore in Mr. Lapeña as Director-General of the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) at the Philippine Air Force Brigadier General Benito N. Ebuen Air Base in Cebu.
Mr. Guerrero, following his retirement from the military, was appointed in April as head of the Maritime Industry Authority (MARINA).
Mr. Duterte instructed Mr. Guerrero in his new role to “double the zealousness” in performing his mandate of ridding the BoC of corruption, while noting that the retired general was a “good and honest” man.
He also ordered the replacement of Customs personnel with the Armed Forces.
During a turnover ceremony on Wednesday at the Customs headquarters in Manila, Mr. Lapeña said in a speech that he was true to his words to stop corruption in the BoC under his watch, noting that he has already relieved several Customs personnel who were found to be colluding with traders or who failed their collection targets under his one-strike policy.
The former Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency chief also noted his initiatives to cut red tape through the electronic valuation system, as well as anti-smuggling efforts and measures to reduce human contact on Customs transactions.
“I looked back at what I said during my assumption speech, and I thank all the men and women (who) went on board with me because the records showed I was able to deliver what I promised back then in my 14 months as your commissioner,” Mr. Lapeña said.
“I will leave the Bureau of Customs knowing that I have done the right things the right way. There may have been lapses in the systems and operations, but with what I told you 14 months ago, to do away with “tara” and stop the practice of “no pasalubong,” no-gift and no-take policy, these are the same policies that I have also followed,” he added.
Mr. Lapeña was appointed in August last year, replacing now Bureau of Corrections chief Nicanor E. Faeldon, also a military man, following the controversy on the entry of P6.4 billion worth of shabu found in a Valenzuela warehouse.
Mr. Guerrero in his turnover speech said he pledges to build the trust of the public with the BoC and commits to stop corruption.
“As I take the helm of the BoC, expect that the efforts against corruption will be both decisive and unrelenting, as I focus on addressing systemic weaknesses, implementing stronger internal safeguards, enhancing integrity systems and building capabilities and capacities of our law enforcement,” he said.
“We must regain the trust of those whom we serve, and we start by building trust between and among us. Without trust, we will not be able to make change happen, or rebuild our credibility in our reputation,” said the new BoC chief.
Tax experts interviewed for this story said the President’s order to replace Customs staff with military men may reduce collusion between the Customs and traders, although they may lack the technical expertise in Customs functions.
“They may be tougher and it may improve compliance, but they don’t know the work of tax professionals. It’s a political move,” a tax expert said in a phone interview who requested not to be named.
They added that corruption would still be possible under the watch of the military, and may have no significant impact on revenue collection.
“There would probably still be corruption, but maybe lower. However with the lack of experience in tax collection, it’s still vague how it will improve tax collections,” he said.
Another tax expert said Customs’ revenue performance may not be directly attributable to Mr. Lapeña’s efforts, but rather due to the weak peso against the US dollar, a high value-added tax take from high prices of imported oil, and a boost in capital goods imports.
The BoC raised P434.6 billion as of September, up 34% from the P323.8 billion in 2017’s comparative nine months, beating its P417.5 billion target by four percent.
The bureau’s nine-month revenues are equivalent to 74.76% of a P581.29-billion full-year target.
The bureau’s collections were also 20.58% of the P2.11-trillion overall state revenues recorded in the January-September period, and 22.93% of the P1.90-trillion tax revenues that grew 16% year-on-year.

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