Cagayan de Oro (CNN Philippines) — The Bureau of Customs (BOC) in Region 10 is installing closed-circuit television (CCTV) units in the agency’s key areas to enhance security measures and aid transparency.
BOC-10 Intelligence Officer II Alvin Enciso said the CCTVs will render the BOC more transparency in its transactions and prevent the bureau from wrongdoings.
Enciso, after his assignment to the BOC, had long been proposing the installation of CCTVs for transparency.
Once installed, the CCTVs in the district can be viewed online, and officials from Manila can monitor how the port of Cagayan de Oro and the Mindanao Container port in Tagoloan, Misamis Oriental are being run and how security is being implemented.
Deputy District Commander Sa-i Roman Moscoso of the BOC-10 said at least 10 CCTVs will be installed at its main office in the port of Macabalan in Cagayan de Oro, including its sub-port situated at the Mindanao Container Port Terminal in Tagoloan.
Moscoso said the CCTVs will be online 24 hours daily.
Enciso said it will not just serve as “risk management” for the bureau, but it will also help the agency track down the flow of containers and if the examination is being done properly in the designated area.
BOC Deputy Commissioner Ariel F. Nepomuceno, in the directive, said: “Being an office vested with police authority, the Enforcement and Security Service (ESS) is not just mandated to implement the Tariff and Customs Code, but is also responsible to ensure the safety of the transacting public.”
Nepomuceno said it is the aim of the agency to protect government properties and to effect arrest in order to prevent or suppress the agency of any crime within the jurisdiction of the BOC.
Nepomuceno looked at the use of CCTV as a “doable solution” having the enormous responsibilities and the existing shortage of ESS personnel.
Nepomuceno said the CCTVs will help provide security, health and safety, and prevent misconduct.
