DOF, BOC bare radical data transparency campaign
Customs ng Bayan and Open Data launched today
The Department of Finance and Bureau of Customs launch today the Customs ng Bayan website www.dof.gov.ph/
Customs ng Bayan (CNB) will feature regular releases of trade activity in each of the 17 main collection district of customs, including the value and volume of goods imported and customs duties collected per port.
It currently contains Customs import entries for December 2013 and reports on relief goods imported last year in the wake of Typhoon Yolanda, specifically those processed at the One Stop Shops at the Port of Mactan and the Port of NAIA.
The website will eventually feature reports on certain sensitive commodities such as motor vehicle imports and rice.
“Even before the passage of the Freedom of Information Law, we find value in crowdsourcing the anti-corruption effort through a radical change in our data transparency policies for public accountability. Empowering the people through information is one of the major initiatives of the President’s Customs Reform Agenda,” Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima said.
“By opening the books of an agency that many Filipinos believe is the most corrupt in government, we invite the public to join us, through our Tax Watch and Customs ng Bayan campaigns, in our war against smuggling that defrauds the government of billions of pesos every year,” Customs Commissioner John Sevilla added.
The release of Customs ng Bayan coincides with the beginning of the Bureau’s reforms concerning transparency of data and accountability of its operations.
This week, the DOF also launches its first DOF-BOC Tax Watch advertisement featuring top importers of motor vehicles and the customs duties they paid on these imports. Just last week Customs has published its first monthly list of importations in the Philippines, starting with December 2013 import entries.
The DOF and BOC has also worked with Open Data Team to publish more Customs information through the government’s Open Data Portal (data.gov.ph), to be officially launched at the Good Governance Summit by the Commissioner of Customs.
The public may report any specific questionable transaction via the improved www.perangbayan.com
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