Last week, critics of embattled Customs Commissioner Angelito Alvarez led by Zambales Rep. Mitos Magsaysay were reportedly  in a celebratory mood  as news traveled with Internet speed about  an impending change in leadership at the waterfront. 

For the nth time, Alvarez was rumored to be on his way out.  A kapartido of President  Aquino was said to be waiting in the wings to take his oath as BoC chief before the month ends.

All these came about after Alvarez was pummeled non-stop by Magsaysay and fellow lawmaker Gani Gunigundo during the House sub-committee on tariff and customs’ investigation of the mysterious disappearance of almost 2,000 container vans that were being  trans-shipped to the Port of Batangas from Port Area in Manila.

Up to press time, no definite word has come from the Palace about the report regarding the replacement of Alvarez as the latter  continues to call the shots in his North harbor office. 

Denouncing calls for his resignation as undeserved,  the former executive of Sycip, Gorres & Velayo auditing firm stood  his ground and  stated  last week he had no intention of  leaving his post. Buttressing his resolve was a Palace pronouncement that he was still enjoying the President’s trust, and that, yes, no replacement was forthcoming. And so the battle rages on.

In a press briefing, Alvarez recited a litany of the bureau’s achievements over the past 12 months, to wit, the filing of over 50  graft cases against smugglers, importers, brokers, and erring  customs employees. He pointed out that this comes down to an average of about one case filed per week, something unheard of in past BoC administrations.

Alvarez also harped on the BoC’s implementation of the one-window-policy that has resulted in faster transactions, the installation of a system that made filing of graft cases against erring Customs personnel easier, the harnessing of telcos in the bureau’s fight against smugglers, and the  maximization of their X-ray capabilities to intercept contraband. He said that the government stands to gain P53 billion from the bureau-initiated suits on top of the P2-billion seized goods due to technical smuggling.

The bureau’s collection shortfalls, he stressed, was substantially due to free trade, a stronger peso, and the lower revenues on petroleum products after the Bureau of Internal Revenue  declared alkylate, an ingredient for producing petroleum products, as raw material, thus exempting it from the excise tax.

The man bruited about to be Alvarez’ successor is former Muntinglupa congressman Ruffy Biazon, son of former senator and now Muntinglupa Rep. Rodolfo Biazon. However, even now, Customs stakeholders are asking if Ruffy, a non-lawyer, has the proper credentials and background to take on the job, aside from merely having the backing of DoTC Secretary Mar Roxas who was reportedly working hard to get his partymates appointed to influential government posts.

Running Customs, the country’s second largest revenue-generating government agency, is a very complicated business that could take months or even years for novatos to learn.

The sniping, in-fighting, bickering, speculations, and bullying of Alvarez would not help straighten out all the mess at the BoC or improve collections. This, too, does not augur well for a fragile  economy. The President should put an end to all this uncertainty by coming out with an official pronouncement about the true status of the leadership in Customs.