President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. delivers his speech during the BIR鈥檚 2025 national tax campaign kick off at the Philippine International Convention Center in Pasay City on Tuesday, February 4, 2025. 黑料社/Ryan聽Leagogo
MANILA, Philippines 鈥� Despite controversies and corruption allegations, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said the Bureau of Customs (BOC) will let its 鈥渁ccomplishments speak for themselves鈥� to prove its integrity.
Speaking at the 123rd founding anniversary celebration of the agency in Pasay City on Friday, the president said there were various issues that tarnished the customs鈥� name.
READ: BOC intensifies fight vs smuggling, corruption
鈥淏ut we are changing that. We will allow your accomplishments to speak for themselves,鈥� the president said in his speech.
He added, 鈥淪ince the beginning of this administration, the BOC has relentlessly pursued its commitment to enhancing trade facilitation. As of December last year, we achieved a 96.99 percent digitalization rate. Congratulations!鈥�
鈥淏y digitalizing 161 out of 166 customs processes, the BOC has been able to close the gaps that provided an avenue of corruption,鈥� Marcos also said.
In the same speech, Marcos said the BOC collected P931 billion, which is around P40 billion higher than its P890 billion collection in 2023.
Marcos said funds were used in the development of educational systems, infrastructure systems, and more.
Corruption in BOC
The BOC is no stranger to allegations of corruption.
In a statement last January, the bureau said 120 of its employees were investigated for alleged corruption from 2023 to 2024.
From this, 14 employees were charged administratively and placed on preventive suspension, while six employees were suspended.
The BOC also filed 135 criminal cases before the Department of Justice against individuals involved in illegal activities during the same years.