Clear-cut functions needed for Subic execs
There should be a clear-cut policy and division of labor between the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority and the Bureau of Customs, particularly in the fight against smuggling.
This was the reaction of SBMA Chairman Feliciano Salonga to a report implicating eight SBMA officials in an alleged conspiracy to smuggle 16 luxury vehicles through the freeport in February.
The report, Salonga said, implicates SBMA Administrator Armand Arreza, Deputy administrator for operations Jose Calimlim, seaport manager Perfecto Pascual, as well as Subic customs collector Marietta Zamoranos and four Customs officials in alleged graft charges to be filed against them.
He said SBMA officials should not be faulted in the smuggling case because the agency’s job is to promote trade in the freeport zone.
“This is what the freeport is all about—to expedite and facilitate the movement of goods,” Salonga said.
“The function of the Bureau of Customs, on the other hand, is to make sure that appropriate taxes and duties are collected before the goods imported into the freeport reach the Customs territory,” he added.
Salonga said both the SBMA and the BoC have to define the boundary between their respective functions, adding that the blurring of lines between the respective tasks of the two agencies leads to confusion.
“The mere fact that General Calimlim and Administrator Arreza are being charged together is an indication of the confusion that reigns in the mind of those who are involved in the investigation,” Salonga said.
“Obviously, smuggling which is a responsibility of the Bureau of Customs is now being charged against the very same people who are supposed to facilitate the flow of goods, not to slow them down,” he added.
The SBMA official said he will seek the support of President Macapagal-Arroyo to resolve the matter, pointing out that the SBMA administration has been following her marching orders “to make Subic a resounding success.”
He said the recommendation to charge Arreza was unfair and comes “like a big blow to the pit of the stomach.”
By: Jess V. Antiporda - Journal Online
This was the reaction of SBMA Chairman Feliciano Salonga to a report implicating eight SBMA officials in an alleged conspiracy to smuggle 16 luxury vehicles through the freeport in February.
The report, Salonga said, implicates SBMA Administrator Armand Arreza, Deputy administrator for operations Jose Calimlim, seaport manager Perfecto Pascual, as well as Subic customs collector Marietta Zamoranos and four Customs officials in alleged graft charges to be filed against them.
He said SBMA officials should not be faulted in the smuggling case because the agency’s job is to promote trade in the freeport zone.
“This is what the freeport is all about—to expedite and facilitate the movement of goods,” Salonga said.
“The function of the Bureau of Customs, on the other hand, is to make sure that appropriate taxes and duties are collected before the goods imported into the freeport reach the Customs territory,” he added.
Salonga said both the SBMA and the BoC have to define the boundary between their respective functions, adding that the blurring of lines between the respective tasks of the two agencies leads to confusion.
“The mere fact that General Calimlim and Administrator Arreza are being charged together is an indication of the confusion that reigns in the mind of those who are involved in the investigation,” Salonga said.
“Obviously, smuggling which is a responsibility of the Bureau of Customs is now being charged against the very same people who are supposed to facilitate the flow of goods, not to slow them down,” he added.
The SBMA official said he will seek the support of President Macapagal-Arroyo to resolve the matter, pointing out that the SBMA administration has been following her marching orders “to make Subic a resounding success.”
He said the recommendation to charge Arreza was unfair and comes “like a big blow to the pit of the stomach.”
posted by OlongapoCity Zambales at
8:18 AM
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