Following President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s marching order to improve revenue collection and fix the Bureau of Customs’ (BOC) internal process, new Commissioner Ariel Nepomuceno on Sunday announced digitization as a solution to the issues faced by the bureau.

In a radio interview on Sunday, Nepomuceno said full digitization is seen to fix the system of the BOC, marred by smuggled goods and delayed revenue collection.

“It should be 100 percent digitized, no more partial digitalization. We’re just fooling ourselves. We can’t fix the system if we don’t digitalize. There should be no human intervention,” Nepomuceno said.

Nepomuceno said the filing of entries and other processes within the agency would no longer need human intervention, other than when violations are found.

“For example, if it was found that you did not pay the right amount, a case will be filed against you and only then would there be human intervention,” Nepomuceno added.

On Wednesday, Nepomuceno issued a memorandum suspending the implementation of all previously approved but unused Letters of Authority and Mission Orders to review all pending enforcement actions and to ensure that operations are properly tracked and aligned with current priorities.

“We are implementing this step to clearly determine what actions are still pending and to ensure that all enforcement efforts are legally sound, properly documented, and aligned with the Bureau’s direction moving forward,” Nepomuceno said in a statement on Thursday. Velle White/DMS