MANILA — The Office of the Ombudsman and the Bureau of Customs (BOC) are scheduled to formalize a memorandum of agreement (MOA) in November to establish a direct data-sharing system aimed at strengthening corruption and smuggling investigations, Ombudsman Jesus Crispin “Boying” Remulla announced on Saturday, October 17.
Speaking on his radio program, Remulla noted that this partnership marks a historic milestone for the bureau.
“Itong November, we’ll be signing a MOA (memorandum of agreement) na with Customs, data sharing na. Customs, first time ‘yan mangyayari,” Remulla said.
BOC Commissioner Ariel Nepomuceno verified the upcoming collaboration in a separate statement, emphasizing a shared mission to eradicate graft within government ranks.
“Ombudsman Boying Remulla and myself have a common objective. To fight corruption in government. This is why the Ombudsman and BOC will formally sign an agreement to institutionalize the automatic sharing of data and other information so that cases will be strong and offenders will be held accountable. This is an effective deterrence against smuggling,” Nepomuceno said.
Previously, Remulla pointed out that restricted access to BOC data hindered the development of robust anti-smuggling cases, noting instances where the bureau fell short of supplying complete documentation required for thorough investigations.
This upcoming accord builds upon prior cooperative measures, following a separate tripartite agreement between the Department of Justice (DOJ), the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), and the BOC designed to tackle economic sabotage.