BILANG na ang araw ng mga sindikato sa likod ng agri-smuggling.

Ito ang pagtitiyak ni Bureau of Customs (BOC) Assistant Commissioner Vincent Maronilla sa pagdinig ng senado, kasabay ng paglalahad ng mga mekanismong nakapaloob sa kanilang digital operations.

“As for the Bureau of Customs, our data is based on actual import volumes, and we want to verify with the Department of Agri­culture if the same is the basis for the data they presented or is it based on actual import permits that were issued but disregarded whether these import permits were actually used. But as far as the bureau is concerned, these are data coming from actual imports and we think there lies the discrepancy,” aniya.

Ayon pa kay Maronilla, kasalukuyan nang nakikipag-ugnayan ang kanilang tanggapan sa World Bank para sa kanilang Philippine Customs Modernization Project.

“At this point, initial procurement of the initial stage of the Philippine Customs Modernization Project is already underway. Hopefully, after that, we will be able to start with the procurement process of the Customs Processing System which will replace our current system and will modernize it at par with other international standards together with the World Bank,” dagdag pa ng opisyal.

Pagmamalaki ni Maro­nilla, sinimulan na rin ng kawanihan ang automation ng kanilang clearance system kung saan maaari nang isagawa ang “contactless transactions” gamit ang BOC customer portal system, bukod pa sa “e-track system” na kanilang gi­nagamit sa pagmomonitor ng mga kargamentong pumapasok sa bansa.

Hugas kamay naman ang DA na nagsabing naiba ang kanilang datos kumpara sa mga impormasyong nakakalap ng BOC at National Intelligence Coordinating Agency (NICA) dahil wala pa umanong centralized monitoring system ang nasabing kagawaran. (JO CALIM)