119 Customs officials facing raps —BOC chief Guerrero

The Bureau of Customs has filed administrative and criminal complaints against 119 officials in line with the bureau’s anti-corruption campaign, Customs chief Rey Leonardo Guerrero said Tuesday.

Among them are the seven personnel ordered dismissed by the Office of the Ombudsman for various offenses that include gross neglect of duty, grave misconduct, conduct prejudicial to the best interest of the service, and serious dishonesty.

Guerrero said the bureau is implementing the Ombudsman’s decisions.

Officials facing complaints have been placed on “floating” status, he said. Pending investigation, they are to report to Compliance Monitoring Unit every day, Guerrero said.

Information from the bureau shows there are 120 administrative and 20 criminal cases against active BOC officials. Twenty-seven officials have been issued show cause orders.

From September 2017 to July 2019, six officials have been dismissed from service, five have been punished with one- to six-month suspensions, four have been reprimanded, and one has been fined an amount worth six months of salary.

Thirteen cases have been dismissed during the same period.

The bureau released  the information as part of its midyear report that outlined accomplishments based on a 10-point goal under Guerrero’s leadership.

A retired military chief, Guerrero took over the bureau after then-Customs chief Isidro Lapeña was transferred to the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority in October 2018. —VDS, GMA News