BOC finalizing guidelines for Lateral Attrition Law

The Bureau of Customs (BOC) is finalizing the guidelines for the implementation of the Lateral Attrition Law (LAL), a new system that aims to raise government revenues by using rewards and penalties.

Customs Commissioner Napoleon Morales said collectors of the bureau’s 15 port districts are now set to sign management contracts under the LAL, which will be implemented starting this year.

Morales said the contract, which is required under LAL, would legalize the liability of BOC collectors and officials in meeting their respective collection targets this year.

"Under the performance contract, they are required to meet their individual targets at all cost, or else they will be subject to attrition under the Attrition Act of 2005," Morales explained.

The BOC head added: "The figures are final. So they have to understand that there is nowhere else we can put the P228 billion assigned to us. But if they can arrange among themselves the adjustments, and find other ports that will accept the amount that they want removed from them, then that is fine with me. But so far, no one has made such an arrangement yet."

Morales said the BOC must comply with LAL, which is government’s main program in achieving a balanced budget by 2008: "By 2008, we need to be at the plateau of the economy, and in order to do that, we must achieve a balanced budget."

"This is also a way to gauge the performance of BOC officials at the district level. For those who do not perform, there is no choice — they will be ‘attrited’," he said.

All 15 district collectors of BOC have vowed to cooperate. They even signed yesterday a manifesto as a sign of their acceptance of the challenge to meet their individual targets.

The Port of Manila, headed by collector Horanio Suansing Jr., is tasked to collect P74.685 billion; Manila International Container Port (MICP), headed by Adelina Molina, with P57.125 billion; Port of Batangas (PoB), headed by Grace Caringal, with P49.890 billion; Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA), headed by Carlos So, with P17.050 billion; Port of Cebu, headed by Ricardo Belmonte, with P4.655 billion; Port of Subic, headed by Marietta Zamoranos, with P4.470 billion; Port of Cagayan de Oro, headed by Abdelin Macapasir, with P2.359 billion; Port of Davao, headed by Juan Tan, with P1.698 billion; Port of San Fernando, headed by Edward Baltazar, with P985 million; Port of Clark, headed by Ronnie Silvestre, with P750 million; Port of Tacloban, headed by Leovigildo Dayoja, with P490 million; Port of Iloilo, headed by Ma. Lourdes Mangaoag, with P366 million; Port of Zamboanga, headed Tomas Alcid, with P80 million; Port of Surigao, headed by William Reyes, with P70 million; and Port of Legaspi, headed by Titus Sangil, with P24 million.

Morales assured, however, that they would push measures to protect "attritable" officials from losing their positions under LAL if the assumptions used as bases for the targets do not materialize. The P228-billion target of BOC for 2007 is based on an exchange rate of P49 to a dollar.