SCRAP THE LATERAL ATTRITION LAW (LAL)

It was gut-wrenching to hear that the emperor in the Bureau of Customs (BOC) and his henchmen received a hefty sum of more than 400 million pesos just for simply doing their work. Not only is this practice full of loopholes, it is also very prone and open to abuse. Simply connive with the Department Secretary to lower the bureau’s revenue targets for a certain year and you will be seeing more millionaires in one of the country’s top agencies most perceived to be corrupt (together with BIR and the Public Works and Highways Department)

Moreover, the purpose of the Lateral Attrition Law is to encourage BIR and BOC employees to work hard so that the respective bureaus can exceed their revenue targets for the year, thereby contributing to the country’s growth and development. It was not the intention of the law to make government employees rich enough to build their own mansions in Mount Olympus. When asked during a Senate inquiry why he supposedly received more than 5 million reward, BOC Chief Napoleon Morales blurted, “It is legal.” But then, what is legal may not be necessarily moral.

The law should be scrapped for a variety of reasons. One, the agencies benefiting from the LAL are two of the most notoriously corrupt agencies in the country. The law would be better applied to those who really do something exemplary like the teachers, social and health workers, dedicated policemen and soldiers in the battlefield.

Also, public funds should be allocated for public purposes. Giving more than 400 million pesos to undeserving government officials is far from being a public purpose. It has served only to fatten the already bloated pockets of the BOC officials.

Furthermore, nationalism and love of country should be the primary motivation of members of the government work force, just like the motto “Mamamayan Muna, Hindi Mamaya Na” (Our First Priority Is Service to the Nation, Not Procrastination), and not monetary rewards.

Given these, the law should be repealed and the money given to the BOC officials should be returned to the public treasury.


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