By DUCKY PAREDES
MALAYA
MALAYA
‘Now that Torres has gone, can Biazon be far behind? President Aquino has to rid himself of his KKK — Kaibigan, Kaklase & Kabarilan — to do a better job.’
Virginia Torres
THE departure of DOTC Assistant Secretary Virginia Torres as chief of the Land Transportation Office (LTO) must be giving Customs Commissioner Rufino Biazon sleepless nights.
And why not? After all, President Noynoy Aquino has now seen it fit to let Torres go, although she insists that she is actually “retiring” from the service.
Everybody knows that Torres is not only a kababayan of the President, but is also quite close to and enjoyed his full trust and confidence. On top of these, she is also a member of the Iglesia Ni Cristo (INC) which wields considerable influence in almost all sectors of Philippine politics.
In fact, there was talk that the President decided to retain her as LTO Chief in spite of the expressed desire of then DOTC Secretary Jose “Ping” de Jesus for her to be relieved as head of agency. Supposedly, this was one of the reasons De Jesus eventually quit the Cabinet. There are also reliable reports that incumbent DOTC Secretary Joseph Emilio Abaya wanted her out of the LTO.
Now that Torres has gone, can Biazon be far behind?
The held belief by PNoy lovers and bashers is that the President has to rid himslf of his KKK — Kaibigan, Kklase & Kabarilan — to do a better job. With Virgie, a Kabarilan, gone, Customs insiders venture the view that the BOC Chief’s position has now become both perilous and untenable. His recent pronouncement concerning the bureau’s 2013 collection target has only served to add more fuel to the fire now crackling under his seat.
Biazon boasts that Customs collection in the first nine months of 2013 the BOC generated P224.17 billion, supposedly posting a 4.9 percent increase compared to the same period last year; and that the agency’s revenue as of end-September 2013 was up 8.9 per over that of September 2012.
Big deal! What Biazon was desperately trying to mask is the dismal failure of the BOC under his leadership to meet the collection targets set by the Development Budget Coordination Committee (DBCC). For September this year, for instance, the bureau raked in only P25.274 billion or a substantial shortfall of 13.4 percent equivalent to P3.899 billion.
Yet, as reported in the newspapers, Biazon had the gall to announce that he is hoping to attain a P300 billion collection for year 2013. But the goal for this year as set by the DBCC is actually P340 billion. It appears, therefore, that the Customs Chief has unilaterally lowered the target by P40 billion or 11.76 percent!
So by what authority does Biazon reduce the target? Did this have the approval of Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima? And to think that the original target was really P397 billion but was cut by P50 billion upon the repeated importunings of Biazon.
Sources in the bureau say that this is not the first time that the Commissioner tried to put one over the Finance Secretary, who is his immediate superior.
Last September 25, Biazon issued a Customs Personnel Order (CPO) designating Officers-In-Charge for 16 major ports in the country, including the Port of Manila and the Manila International Container Port (MICP).
This was forwarded to the Office of Purisima for approval but to Biazon‘s chagrin, the Finance Secretary disapproved the designations and scuttled the CPO.
The reason was that Biazon reportedly disregarded a standing rule that designations to any position or vacancy in the bureau should be filled only by the next ranking and most senior personnel or official.
Allegedly, many of those in the list were the personal favorites of the Customs boss and were not the next ranking or most senior officials.
Foiled in his bid, Biazon tried to get around Purisima’s disapproval by converting the September 25 CPO to a mere Memorandum dated September 30. He also replaced several names in the earlier list of designated Officers-In-Charge to conform to the rule. This time, Biazon reportedly did not secure the approval of Purisima for these designations.
The trouble is that at least two names in the list have pending cases. One is reportedly included among those charged by the NBI in connection with the nearly 2,000 containers that disappeared while in transit from the Manila International Container Port to Batangas.
The other is allegedly involved in an extortion case against a company that brought in shipments of steel products in the Port of Subic.
An interesting sidebar to this designation of Officers-In-Charge is that the Commissioner’s September 30 Memorandum may have violated the ban against the transfer or designation of government personnel issued by the Commission on Elections (Comelec) in connection with the October 28 barangay elections.
The ban expressly prohibits such movement of personnel 30 days before and 15 days after the elections, or from September 28 to November 12, 2013.
Whenever the issue of collection shortfalls are brought up, Biazon never fails to cite the standard excuse he uses for his unsatisfactory performance. Among these are the fluctuations in the peso-dollar exchange rates, the lower tariffs brought about by various free trade agreements, and fewer working days in certain months. Yet these matters are already factored in when the targets are set by the DBCC, an inter-agency body of which Biazon himself is a member.
With regard to the recent drops in collection, Customs brokers and others dealing with the agency point to what they say are the uncertainties and instability brought about by the controversial reshuffle of collectors and other key personnel.
There is also talk that apart from their serious misgivings over Biazon’s lack of qualification and experience in Customs administration, insiders are said to be appalled at the hubris that seems to burden the Commissioner.
This is purportedly caused by Biazon’s constant claim that he is very close to the President and that he can call him directly to air his complaint about certain people who refuse to cooperate with this supposed reforms, or are reluctant to follow his orders.
Is this why Biazon has chosen to override his immediate superior, Secretary Purisima, at least in his decision to lower the collection to just P300 billion for 2013 and to bypass the latter’s approval in the designation of those Officers-In-Charge?
***
Readers who missed a column can access www.duckyparedes.com/blogs. This is updated daily. Your reactions are welcome at duckyparedes@yahoo.com
No comments:
Post a Comment