“Being that the US is our biggest trading partner, it was imperative to get into X-Ray scanning.”
by Ducky Paredes
Just because the just-resigned BIR Commissioner announced that he was doing so because he was ashamed that he could not meet the unreachably high targets given him by the theoreticians at the Department of Finance who probably have never done any work outside of setting unattainable targets, some pundits have suggested that the Commissioner of Customs ought to take the same path.
This is unfair. First of all, that excuse given by Internal Revenue Commissioner Sixto Esquivias IV was a sarcastic one. He knows that those targets are unattainable; besides, he had his own real reasons for resigning besides those targets. He knew that corruption in the BIR could only worsen considering the people being foisted on him by Malacanang.
What is the situation at the Bureau of Customs (BOC)? Its collection target was set at P266.14 billion for 2009. So far, the BOC has collected P165.39 billion, which (going by the monthly and quarterly targets) is short of the third quarter target of P201.42 by P36.03 billion.
The BOC target for the last quarter (October to December) is P64.72 billion. That amount plus the shortage for the first three quarters means a target of P100.75 billion for the last three months of 2009! Can it be done? No way! It simply cannot happen.
But, clearly, if everyone goes by performance judged by target completion alone, we would have no one left in government, including those at the very top. Clearly, this government has failed (recently, in disaster preparedness) big-time – in just about anything one can bring up.
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Atty. Ma. Lourdes Mangaoang is the head of the X-Ray Inspection Project (XIP) of the Bureau of Customs. She was good enough to apprise us of the functions and achievements of her unit whose formal name is the “Bureau Of Customs Non-Intrusive Container Inspection System.” I found her exposition very interesting.
BOC has a total of 30 X-ray units deployed in 10 primary ports and subports where there is a comparatively high level of container traffic: Port of Manila, 5; Manila International Container Port, Cebu and Batangas, 4 each; Subic and Davao, 3 each; Clark, Cagayan de Oro, and General Santos, 2 each and Zamboanga, 1.
These X-ray units were installed in May 2007 and for the nine-month period that it was in operation that year, XIP led to the seizure of 54 TEUs (Twenty Equivalent Units) containing various goods and articles brought into the country in violation of customs laws and regulations. The apprehended goods had a partial estimated value of almost P1.554 billion.
For the whole of 2008, the X-Ray units caused the seizure of 102 containers loaded with misdeclared or undeclared cargo the partial estimated value of which totaled P157.211 million.
From January to May this year, the bureau has already confiscated 53 TEUs with a partial estimated value of P427.532 million. Total number of seized containers was 209 and most were destined for the major ports of entry such as the Port of Manila, the Manila International Container Port, and Cebu and Davao. The estimated value of the goods seized over the 25-month period from May 2007 to May 2009 is more than P2.128 billion. This does not include the still undetermined value of some shipments, including 74 drums of unknown chemicals from China, misdeclared as machine accessories.
The seized contraband constitutes a wide range of products, including luxury vehicles, motorcycles, tires, CD replicating machines, pornographic DVDs, optical media materials, used clothing, chemicals, appliances, computers, cellular phones, foodstuff, and agricultural products like rice, sugar and coffee.
Over and above the value of the seized cargo, the XIP has helped increase revenue collections by aiding the assessment divisions in detecting misdeclarations in the nature and quantity of e goods. It also assists in determining the correct classification and valuation of these goods through the efficient scanning of both incoming and outgoing containers.
Hence, in 2008 alone, the Project was able to bring more than P21.172 million as additional payments of duties and taxes. However, the added income represented less than one-half percent of containers scanned by what is called consumption entries.
The 30 X-ray units were acquired from Nuctech Company, Inc. of China through a concessional loan from the government of the People’s Republic of China. China funded the acquisition and installation cost of the machines, with no equity required from the Philippines. China also trains BOC personnel for the needed transfer of technology.
The loan bears a two percent (2%) interest per annum based on the diminishing balance. Payment is spread over 20 years, with an additional grace period of five years. The facilities are operated and maintained directly by the BOC and all income generated goes to the national treasury. This, in effect, makes the Project self-liquidating.
Why do we have these X-Ray Scanners? After the 9/11 attacks on New York City, the US government undertook a program called the Container Security Initiative (CSI). A law was enacted under which foreign ports are required to subject to X-Ray inspection all containers to be shipped to the US. The purpose is to ensure that freight containers are not used to smuggle weapons to that country.
Being that the US is our biggest trading partner, it was imperative to get into X-Ray scanning. The installation of this equipment in our ports necessarily upgrades our capability to undertake the required inspection of containerized cargo and qualifies the Philippines to join the US Container Security Initiative.
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hvp 11.09.09
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