DI BA'T ANG YAMAN MO NA???
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Noynoy
is back to Noynoying or procrastinating on the problem of smuggling in
the country that had turned for the worse under his administration,
enough for businessmen to now call the Philippines the world’s smuggling
capital.Noynoy is turning a blind eye on the dire situation that no less than business leaders needed to bring to public notice but which is already common knowledge in the business world.
Noynoy wanted to keep a business as usual position with the Bureau of Customs (BoC), primarily with Customs Commissioner Ruffy Biazon who he said continues to enjoy his trust.
The extent of massive smuggling in the country surfaced after Petron chairman Ramon Ang revealed that P30 billion in potential government revenues is being lost yearly from oil smuggling.
Ang’s lament triggered representatives of other industries to make known the depth of the smuggling problem in their own fields.
The figure is almost consistent in all industries: The government is being robbed of P30 billion in each sector more or less each year.
Biazon can no longer take the lead in the so-called reform agenda that Noynoy claims is underway at the Customs bureau since he already blew the chance given him to institute reforms.
The only honorable route for him and other key Customs officials should be to give up their posts with the massive failure of the agency to control, if not stop, the smuggling menace.
The problem also can’t be resolved by a mere assurance from the Palace that BoC officials continue to enjoy the full confidence of Noynoy.
Sweeping policy changes in the Customs bureau and tariff-free economic zones should be handed to individuals with a deep knowledge of the problem that Biazon could have acquired through constant consultation with members of the business sector.
The smuggling problem has been a puzzle the solution of which has become so elusive that the former government of Cory Aquino even tapped a third-party import inspection service firm to control smuggling.
The result was that the government only ended up paying the astronomical costs for the services yet the smuggling problem persisted.
Business groups said, however, that the problem is not beyond solution and that instituting sweeping reforms on tariff-exempt economic zones identified as sources of smuggled products and stiffer penalties against smugglers would be key to eradicating the problem.
The solution to end the smuggling menace, however, requires a great deal of political will from the leadership which Noynoy lacks since he prefers to protect his allies when they are found to be short of the qualities required for the post assigned to them.
Connivance between Customs personnel and smuggling syndicates under Noynoy has become so blatant that it is being done in broad daylight, such as the disappearance of 2,000 container vans at the Port of Manila (PoM) in 2011.
The container vans have in them products intended for transshipment and were estimated to have deprived the government of more than P240 million in potential revenues. The controversy led to the resignation of then Customs Commissioner Angelito Alvarez, another Noynoy ally.
A House of Representatives investigation into the incident indicated the seized products ended up mostly on the shelves of a local supermarket chain.
The held goods were supposed to have been transshipped from the PoM and the Manila International Container Port (MICP) to the Port of Batangas.
The recent fiscal figures which had a budget deficit of P12 billion in February as the government ramps up spending for infrastructure showed how the failure of Biazon and the Customs bureau is contributing to the total ineffectiveness of the administration of Noynoy. The BoC was the chief laggard in the February figures missing its target for the month by 6.53 percent or by P1.6 billion.
Government spendings for February were up 14.3 percent to P124 billion but revenues dropped 5.7 percent to P112 billion during the period.
Noynoy and his practice of protecting his allies also make him a law breaker.
The Lateral Attrition Law requires the imposition of penalties on government personnel who fail to perform their duties.
Biazon actually could help Noynoy out of his Noynoying habit by voluntarily resigning.
