NPC for arming of newsmen BLURBAL THRUSTS Louie Logarta 07/11/2010

NPC for arming of newsmen

BLURBAL THRUSTS Louie Logarta 07/11/2010 Customs Commissioner Lito Alvarez’s first order of business upon assuming office last week was, according to sources, order an audit of the Manila International Container Port (MICP), one of the agency’s billionaire ports, after it failed to meet its collection target for the first semester of the year by almost P400 million. Well and good, because he wishes to make a good impression on the people who placed him in one of the most coveted positions in government (we’re told some people would willingly shove their mother-in-law off a cliff in order to get it) and more importantly dispel suspicions that he would favor certain importer-friends, since everyone knows he was the bossman of Airfreight 2100, a cargo forwarding company owned by businessman Bert Lina (also a former Customs commissioner until he joined the Hyatt 10 group in resigning from their respective posts in the Gloria government in July 2005) before he was named to his new position, that counts on many of them as valued clients. The move will go a long way in showing to the world he is dead serious in doing a performance check at the BoC which has been ranked by survey firms as one of the most corrupt government agencies around. But the commissioner has his work cut out for him because he will not only be fighting corrupt personnel but also facilities and perceptions that actually make it hard for Customs officials to do their jobs properly. There is a reason the MICP collected only P27.62 billion from January to June (as against its target of P28.06 billion) although it is the second-busiest port in the country, in terms of volume of containers. For the longest time, importers have been emboldened to misdeclare or undervalue shipments because it is so easy to do so over there; so to speak, institutionalized already. These importers are encouraged by big-time smugglers, many of whom are identified with the previous administration. These dicks have the temerity to process their contraband through the MICP, where the International Container Terminal Services Inc. (ICTSI) which owned by certified billionaire Ricky Razon — one-time crony of former President Arroyo and her husband Mike — has its franchise area..... MORE Source:  The Daily Tribune URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20100711com4.html

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