MANILA: Former commissioner Alberto Lina has left the Bureau of Customs in bad shape, failing to hit any of its revenue targets for the six months of the year, records show.
All ports under the bureau’s supervision were also unable to hit their respective goals in April and May this year.
For the first half of the year, the bureau collected only P190.27 billion out of its P238.32-billion target, for a P48.05-billion shortfall.
Weeks before Lina stepped out of office, then incoming President Rodrigo Duterte identified the bureau as among the three most corrupt agencies in the government, along with the Bureau of Internal Revenue and the Land Transportation Office.
Last month, President Duterte ordered new Customs Commissioner Nicanor Faeldon to rid the agency of corrupt officials and personnel.
“I already have the raw information but I still have to validate it… I hope Faeldon would do his thing and stop corruption in Customs,” the President said, adding that unscrupulous Customs officials and employees have “long lived in luxury.
