Bureau of Customs (BOC) Commissioner Ariel F. Nepomuceno has ordered all district collectors to mandatorily report to the Customs Operations Center (CoC) all high-stakes activities, including intrusive inspections, serving of legal warrants, and handling of flagged cargo.

To uphold centralized oversight and institutional integrity, officers must submit the necessary documentation and digital recordings to the operations center.

“All outside activities requiring the use of body-worn cameras (BWC), such as intrusive examinations, handling of alerted containers, serving of letters of authority (LOA), and implementing mission orders, shall be coordinated with the CoC,” Nepomuceno said in a memorandum his office issued last Thursday, June 4.

This directive ensures that field activities are no longer carried out in isolation, which could trigger suspicion and consequently erode the credibility of the country’s second-largest tax collection arm.

“This is to ensure transparency, accountability, and centralized monitoring of all enforcement-related operations,” the memorandum read, signaling the prevention of illicit activities during field operations.

Prior to field operations, district collectors and other concerned units are “required to provide the necessary documents and inform the CoC” about the activity. They are also mandated to submit footage to the central office if real-time coordination is not feasible, preventing undocumented enforcement operations.

This push for heightened transparency is reinforced by a separate directive issued on the same day, which tightens the reporting window and technological requirements for port operations.

The memorandum orders the submission of accurate and timely daily reports and the provision of stable internet connections for the live viewing of closed-circuit television (CCTV) and body-worn camera feeds.

To ensure the timely submission of daily operational activities, all reports must be transmitted to the CoC no later than 3:00 p.m. This strict deadline allows for the consolidation and submission of an overall report to the Commissioner’s office within the same day in a prescribed format.

Further, concerned personnel are instructed to “secure and maintain stable internet connections” to enable the CoC to access feeds in real time from designated examination areas (DEAs).