As the 100th day in office of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. approaches, different government agencies share their own accomplishments while vowing to strengthen their services for Filipinos.
In the Laging Handa briefing, Bureau of Customs (BOC) Spokesperson Arnaldo Dela Torre Jr. said they have seized P5.3 billion worth of smuggled goods from July to September 2022 through their intensified surveillance and operations.
They also filed 26 criminal cases and five administrative cases against those involved in smuggling.
Through their internal cleansing, the BOC has conducted 132 investigations, eight show cause orders and one administrative case was filed.
Aside from running after violators, the bureau’s revenue collection performance has continued to improve. In June this year, the BOC logged its highest ever monthly collection at P76.29 billion.
“Ma-a-attribute natin ang pagtaas ng collection sa Setyembre due to numerous factors: Una po rito iyong malakas at mataas na kooperasyon ng ating mga kawani dahil mas motivated po sila ngayon dahil sa pamumuno ng bagong Presidente natin,” Dela Torre said.
Immigration
In a separate interview with Bureau of Immigration (BI) Spokesperson Dana Sandoval, she said the BI further improved the relationship with their counterparts in Southeast Asia within the first 100 days of the administration.
In the Philippines, she said more than 200 have been arrested for various immigration violations and hundreds of illegal aliens have been nabbed for illegally working and staying in the country.
She assured that the BI is prioritizing the deportation of foreign nationals and is addressing issues involving them.
“Once ready, we can schedule na po iyong kanilang deportation, and the costs po dito sa kanilang pag-alis ay shouldered po mismo noong mga subjects, noong mga tao pong iyon,” she said.
Good performance
Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla, in a previous interview, said the Marcos administration was off to a good start as he assured continuous provision of assistance to the public.
“From the NBI [National Bureau of Investigation], we are improving the system by which the NBI is running, to prosecution service, the rules we are putting forward,” Remulla said.
“We are trying to improve BuCor [Bureau of Corrections], in many ways possible. We are functioning at the very good level here, and I am confident that we are being judged well by the public,” he added.
“I would give myself, I would give the DOJ a very fair grade, a very good grade possible,” he continued. —Report from Mela Lesmoras/KC-ag
