THE corruption problem in the Bureau of Customs (BOC) is serious like cancer. Customs Commissioner Rey Leonardo Guerrero, a retired military general, revealed that scalawags in the bureau have already used his name several times to collect “tara.” He sternly warned them during a morning talk with the customs employees.

Guerero, talking in Tagalog, asked them what they would do with their wealth when they cannot take them when they die. Would their children be happy if they leave them with stolen money?

“Sa araw na ito inuutos ko na lahat kayo bawal ang mag-entertain ng fixers o kung sino man sa opisina ninyo,” he said. He then asked in a military tone:, “Am I clear?” “Yes sir,” everyone supposedly answered in unison.

The corruption problem in the BOC is not new. I am sure that Commissioner Guerrero is aware of it even before President Duterte appointed him to the post in place of Isidro Lapeña, who was transferred to Tesda after he failed to prevent the entry of P11 billion-worth of shabu in the Port of Manila.

“I told them, if you see fixers, shoot them and throw them into the sea. Do not admit to the killings. Damn those criminals,” the President, a lawyer, said earlier.

I have friends in the BOC and I am not stating this in their defense since they don’t need one. But I have not heard derogatory comments against them from traders or importers. It takes two to tango in bribery or corruption. Without the briber or the bribed there is no bribery. But an attempt to bribe is still a penal offense.

Corruption in the BOC boils down to two things: one, the system or process at the bureau that is susceptible to corruption; two, the lack of moral values among the employees and those transacting business there. Commissioners in the past had instituted measures and reforms but these did not totally solve the corruption problem.

The other big issue in the bureau is the quota system in every district collection office. This is what I’ve learned from a friend working in one of the collection district offices. With the high tariff on some imported items or goods, only companies that manufacture goods that need imported materials as precursors regularly import. Because of the quota, a district would allow “misdeclaration” of imported goods that are not contraband.

With the use of illegal drugs like shabu in the country and the lure of easy and fast cash, those who value money more than their person and integrity are easy prey of the influential illegal drugs traders, whose source of illegal drugs mostly come from China.

The problem with corruption in the BOC is that it not only bugs the employees of the bureau. I was told some elected and appointed officials holding high positions in government intervene on behalf of “questionable” importations by importers with whom they owed favors in some way or the other.

“Killing the fixers,” so to speak, is just like killing illegal drug dealers and pushers: it is not the sole solution to the problem of corruption. The government should institute a holistic approach, including a total review of the system at the BOC and of importation and tariff laws.