The Philippine Bureau of Customs (BOC) is upgrading to a new and modern anti-corruption system that aims to change how business is being done.
As reported, 1-ASSESSMENT is a web-based management software and application system currently being piloted at the ports of Batangas, Subic, Clark, Surigao and Limay.
The Customs Commissioner shared that full-automation is their mid-term strategy to fulfil the President’s marching orders to stop corruption and to generate revenues.
Towards the goal of full implementation on the first part of 2019, a Customs Memorandum Order will be released so a National Assessment Centre could be established.
The Centre is where all the initial assessments of examiners will be reviewed.
There are three main objectives to the implementation of 1-ASSESSMENT. They are:
- To comply with RA 11032 or The Ease of Doing Business and Service Delivery Act
- To minimise corruption by institutionalising “Zero Contact”
- To track all transactional information, which include time of transaction, comments and request for additional information between customs officers and external stakeholders
The 1-ASSESSMENT system provides a bias-free assessment of goods by randomly assigning appraisers and examiners to each goods declaration.
Goods declarations will be randomly assigned to an available examiner within the port. Once examined, the entries will be assigned to an available appraiser outside of the port for verification.
1-ASSESSMENT processes the goods on a first in, first out (FIFO) basis. Key performance indicators are measured based on speed of transaction.
Importers and brokers are provided with actual updates on the status of their respective goods declaration without the need for a face to face transaction.
Possible corruption is minimised since 1 – ASSESSMENT randomly assigns the examiners within the port and the appraisers from outside the port.
By being able to track all transactional information using 1 – ASSESSMENT, brokers can easily determine if somebody else is using their credentials and an assessment chief can reassign goods declarations if processing is delayed.
The 1-ASSESSMENT is housed in the Cloud and has also been implemented in China, Japan and most countries in Africa.
These countries have proven that the system is effective in implementing “True Valuation“, efficient in tracking entire transactions for audit purposes and significant in battling corruption.
1 – ASSESSMENT promises to be the anti–corruption system that will effectuate the transformation of the Bureau of Customs into a modernised, credible customs administration.
The use of modern technology in the fight against corrupt practices has proven to be effective in business.
By using the 1-Assessment system the BOC hopes to eradicate corruption and usher in a new era of excellence that every Filipino can be proud of.