Customs Commissioner Ruffy Biazon has trimmed down the list of accredited media personnel covering the Customs beat to 96.
The original number was at over 300 a couple of years ago. However the Bureau has been purging the list of fly-by-night journalists or those coming from less than credible organizations.
The department said some of these so-called reporters have been allegedly operating as fixers or public relations agents for smugglers and unscrupulous BOC personnel.
The move is supported by the National Press Club. Its president Benny Antiporda said in an Inquirer News report that the bureau was “doing the right thing.”
