Catch-22

President Rodrigo Duterte is clearly in a Catch-22 situation in dealing with corruption at the Bureau of Customs. In order to clean up the place, he has to resort to extraordinary if not extra-legal action such as calling in the military to “clear the area,” secure the facility, and “hold the Fort.” But the minute he went down this path, challenges started to crop up regarding the legality of his orders to suspend or place on floating status all division heads, officers at the BOC as well as the legality of calling out the military. But then if he doesn’t take such an action, how else can he clear the pit of corruption and sift the clean from the unclean? But knowing “Digong” he will have his way and tell the critics to take their complaints where the sun don’t shine.

It was not very long ago that I wrote a column where I suggested that President Rodrigo Duterte should declare martial law at the BOC and all its operational territories because that seems to me to be the only option left in order to clean up the place in the shortest possible time. I am glad that as unpopular as the idea may seem, he has not given up on the hope that somehow, somewhere he will find the solution needed to fix the problem! However, declaring martial law at the BOC is not a quick or easy fix, because the military and/or police personnel that go in will generally be for the purpose of securing the operations while excluding the undesirables, suspects and potential saboteurs of the President’s action plan.

While things are being put together, President Duterte and Finance Secretary Sonny Dominguez must call out for candidate consultants and advisers with unimpeachable competence, integrity and character concerning BOC matters and operations. One objective they ought to have is how to simplify doing business with the BOC to the point that valuation and taxation is not subject to human intervention or interpretation and implement the DTI Ease of Doing Business program to the point that customs brokers become obsolete or unnecessary, and no cash payments are made to the BOC but transmitted directly to a government bank. I don’t know if they’re doing that already but the LTO has recently rolled that out and except for a few kinks with Landbank, they are happy not to be handling millions of pesos everyday!

Parallel to forming such a team, PRRD should call out the Development Academy of the Philippines, experts and veterans from the Civil Service Commission, Ombudsman, NBI and BIR etc. to formulate a plan and program to screen, validate and evaluate the background, lifestyle, certifications, degrees, trainings and documented competencies of ALL Customs officials and employees. FEAR may work well with the guilty but it does not last long and when PRRD has left office, what will stop the “unclean” from returning? TESTS, TESTS and MORE TESTS. This should include a series of tests from current requirements to new ones to be added or required by the DOF and Office of the President through his consultative committee on the BOC. I hate tests but I agree that tests and certifications is one good step at weeding out incompetents and hopefully some of the corrupt.

Yes, this may take two or three years but it will address the nepotism, palakasan or patronage politics, and give the Office of the President the means to remove politically appointed tong collectors placed in the BOC by senators, congressmen, mayors, presidents, and influential church leaders in the past! This approach will also raise the bar in terms of professionalizing the rank and file of the BOC which, according to sources has largely been a generational/family career or business, where the grandparents first qualified then subsequent generations simply “inherited” by virtue of connection, tong collection-sharing, and a sense of entitlement!

President Duterte will also have to assign a group dedicated only to filtering or screening the “clean” at the BOC. There are still a number of little people or clean and dedicated career personnel of the BOC and it is imperative that when martial law is actually implemented inside the BOC that these people are identified, reassured and even rewarded for their devotion to duty and integrity. This will reassure this Tribe that the President’s intentions are pure and that the “clean” will have job security and not end up being flushed out of the BOC along with the corrupt.

As a last measure, President Duterte will have to invite or speak or meet up separately with the various stakeholders or clients of the BOC, small or large. Every sector with dealings or transactions with the BOC should be served notice that they are now or for the moment dealing with President Rodrigo Duterte and that everyone has to come clean and deal clean. It’s like telling them we will be investigating so we will give you a chance to make up or face the consequences of being exposed. It is also important for PRRD to get the full commitment and full payment of stakeholders because the one thing that will prove the success of martial law at the BOC is if the new administrators actually collect higher revenues, process documents and release goods much faster than the “unclean.” Like I always say: Your work will always speak for you.

I don’t know what the connection is but I keep thinking of Gideon from chapter 6 of the Book of Judges. He was the least of his tribe but the Lord called him a mighty man of valor and God told him to choose only 300 men from the thousands and fight the Midianites whom Gideon massacred with the help of the Lord. Perhaps martial law at the BOC is of the Lord and if it is then President Duterte will succeed. If it’s not, time will surely tell.

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