Senator Ping Lacson is heartened over the request of new Customs Commissioner Ariel Nepomuceno to help automate the bureau’s systems.
Lacson, in an interview on One News recently, disclosed that Nepomuceno made the request in a meeting.
“I’m glad he asked for help in automating the bureau’s systems.”
“I met with BOC Commissioner Ariel Nepomuceno. I’m glad he asked for help in automating the bureau’s systems. I said it is good that he made such a request because you can be more efficient and save a lot in tax collections once the BOC is fully automated,” the veteran legislator said in Filipino.
The seasoned lawmaker said that while the BOC has computerized its systems, it still needs to automate because it is still not free from human intervention, which opens the door to corruption.
The senator said that so long as there is human intervention, there will be discrepancies in import and export records of the Philippines and its trade partners – which may mean billions of pesos in lost revenues.
In other countries like China, he said there is no room for human intervention by a Customs collector or appraiser because all processes are already automated.
Also, Lacson recalled that when he asked a former BOC official in the previous administration why they have not automated their systems, the former official said they lacked the P15-billion budget to do so.
But when he asked for a list of particulars so he can justify the realignment of appropriations, the BOC never submitted one.
“Automation will get rid of human intervention.”
“Why don’t they want to automate? It’s because automation will get rid of human intervention,” Lacson pointed out.
“Computerization is just a part of improving collection efficiency. It should be in tandem with automation,” he added.
