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Customs commissioner Ariel Nepomuceno reminded bureau officers and personnel of the policy against the entry of “haoshiaos” within official premises and engaging their services
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He ordered the strict implementation of the policy immediately
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The policy is based on BOC’s Code of Conduct, which prohibits the engagement with non-organic personnel or those who have no existing contract of service with BOC
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Any violation of the policy will be subject to penalties, including reprimand, suspension, and dismissal from service
Customs commissioner Ariel Nepomuceno has reminded bureau officers and personnel of the policy against the entry of “haoshiaos” within official premises and engaging their services – and ordered its strict implementation immediately.
Office of the Commissioner (OCOM) Memo No. 04-2026,, dated January 20, 2026, cites the Bureau of Customs’ (BOC) Code of Conduct, which states that a customs employees or officials should not “utilize or engage the services of persons or group of persons who are not organic personnel or have no existing contract of service with BOC to perform functions and responsibilities or the function and responsibilities of a Bureau staff.”
The term haoshiao is a Filipino slang word that comes from the Hokkien language, meaning fake or an impostor pretending to have official capacity.
According to BOC, haoshiaos are non-organic personnel who are performing essential and sensitive functions that are mandated only for BOC organic personnel without having a contract or any documents of employment with the bureau.
READ: BOC warns against impostors, ‘enrollment’ scheme
Any violation of OCOM Memo No. 04-2026 will be subject to the penalties under the 2017 Revised Rules on Administrative Cases in the Civil Service.
The penalties are as follows:
- First offense – reprimand
- Second offense – suspension for 1-30 days
- Third offense – dismissal from the service
The BOC Enforcement Group deputy commissioner will be responsible for ensuring full compliance to the policy.
Prior to OCOM Memo No. 04-2026, other similar memorandums have also been issued prohibiting the entry of haoshiaos and ensuring that only individuals with official business and transactions are allowed entry to any BOC offices.
Relatedly, BOC earlier also prohibited the use of “customs representatives” in identification cards of customs brokers and their representatives to avoid confusion and misinterpretation with official employees of the bureau.
READ: PCCBI backs ban on ‘customs rep’ tag, suggests steps to protect licensed brokers
