BOC-Cebu Celebrates 133rd Anniversary, Eyes ISO Certification

The Bureau of Customs–Port of Cebu celebrated its 133rd founding anniversary with an ambition to acquire a building of its own as a step towards obtaining an ISO certification of its management systems and procedures in the delivery of services to stakeholders.

“This year’s theme, we take on PRRD’s (President Rodrigo Duterte) directives, professionalism, reforms, revenues, and diligence,” lawyer Charlito Mendoza, district collector of BOC-Cebu, told the Philippine News Agency in an interview on Friday.

The celebration started with a Holy Mass and followed by a thanksgiving fellowship to recognize customs workers and retirees’ long years of service, as well as top importers who have contributed to the port’s revenue efforts, he said.

Mendoza said Customs Commissioner Rey Leonardo Guerrero sent a team of auditors here to conduct audit in all offices of the port with the aim of improving the delivery of services to customs stakeholders.

The team of 20 auditors from the Internal Quality Management System Office (IQMSO) headed by Leandro Loyao III interviewed key officials and employees of BOC’s main port of Cebu and the two subports of Mactan and Dumaguete to identify key areas of improvement in its processes.

According to Mendoza, the internal audit was conducted as prelude to its aim of having all customs ports in the country ISO certified.

“It was a fruitful audit. We have an exit conference after the last audit day and discussed one by one those systems or some findings that need to be addressed,” he said in an interview with the Philippine News Agency (PNA).

“The findings are workable. They can be addressed,” he added.

The district collector expressed elation that the auditors relayed to them several commendable areas of the existing systems based on the mandates under the customs laws.

He said that the auditors found out that the subports of Mactan and Dumaguete are qualified for ISO certification. “Mactan and Dumaguete (subports) will definitely apply for ISO certification,” he added.

The internal auditors, he said, raised the challenge on BOC-Cebu’s lack of building as temporary obstacle in applying ISO certification.

He, however, said that such impediment has a positive development this week when the Cebu Port Authority (CPA) management expressed their willingness to extend a usufruct of 25 years over the property where the old passenger terminal that is now being used as customs clearing house is standing.

“It means that we can construct a new customs building using our budget right on this same property that we are occupying now,” Mendoza said.

BOC-Cebu was supposed to be transferred back to the old Customs house transformed into Malacañang sa Sugbo in 2006 through the order of then President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

However, Sec. Michael Lloyd Dino, head of the Office of the Presidential Assistant for the Visayas, toyed with the idea of transforming the Malacañang sa Sugbo into a regional museum which shall be managed by the National Museum of the Philippines. (PNA)