Mr. John Tarkong, Director of the Bureau of Customs and Border Protection, said that the International Customs Day celebrated this year was an opportunity for customs officials to reaffirm their oath.
During this week’s Senate Ways and Means Committee oversight and budget hearing with the Ministry of Finance, Tarkong said the bureau wants to ensure they uphold their mission.
“One thing that we wanted to do was to reaffirm our oath, to ensure that in line with our mission to protect the borders, collect revenue, facilitate legitimate trade and travel,” Tarkong told the committee.
He said that the officers are committed to the work they do and “be efficient, effective, and excellent.”
He added that it is a priority for the officers and the bureau “to demonstrate that we can act with integrity, respect, and be professional in everything that we do.”
Tarkong said the bureau takes pride in its work, especially when protecting and safeguarding the borders and facilitating the legitimate movement of passengers and goods.
“So those are the things that we want to affirm our commit to,” he said.