NextGen Day

MANILA, Philippines — Under the Duterte administration, the Bureau of Customs (BOC) has automated and streamlined 139 of its 170 processes and procedures, or for 82 percent of the total, resulting in above-target collections despite the economic slowdown caused by the epidemic.

The BOC reported to Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III that it collected PHP537.69 billion during the peak of the epidemic in 2020, accounting for 106.2 percent of the PHP506.15 billion goal.

According to Customs Commissioner Rey Leonardo Guerrero, the BOC collected PHP643.56 billion in 2021, or 104.3 percent of its target of PHP616.75 billion during the period, and greater than its pre-pandemic collection of PHP630.31 billion in 2019.

According to Guerrero, the BOC’s revenue haul includes PHP1.5 billion from 342 companies’ post-clearance audits and PHP895.95 million from 176 previous disclosure program (PDP) applications.

The integration of the Ports of Manila, Cebu, and Davao, as well as the Manila International Container Port (MICP), to the Customs Operations Center located in the bureau’s head office in Port Area, Manila, he added, is one of the BOC’s major accomplishments under its customs modernization initiative.

Guerrero also mentioned the complete implementation of the World Customs Organization’s (WCO) cargo targeting system, which requires foreign carriers (ships and planes) or their authorized agents to electronically transmit cargo information in advance using manifest data for profiling, risk assessment, anti-terrorism, law enforcement, and other related purposes.

Dominguez praised the entire BOC for “doing a fantastic job” with the agency’s modernization initiatives.

“This modernization initiative would not have gone as far as it has gone without your leadership, and your collections would not have been as good,” Dominguez said Guerrero.

The submission, processing, and approval of applications of importers and exporters defined as authorized economic operators (AEOs) or those recognized as having complied with WCO or equivalent supply chain security standards are among the processes automated by the BOC through its information and communications technology (ICT)-backed projects, according to Guerrero.

Through the BOC’s AEO online interface, these processes and procedures are now completed electronically.

Customs dashboard, customer care portal system, document tracking, parcel, and balikbayan boxes tracking system, electronic advance ruling system (e-ARS), electronic certificate of origin (eCO), automated bonds management system (ABMS), and Computerization of Super Green Lane Office are among the 30 ICT-supported systems implemented by the BOC.

The BOC also successfully deployed its automated inventory management system for customs bonded warehouses (CBWs) at the Port of Manila, allowing it to determine and monitor the stock inventory of bonded goods from the time they enter the CBW until the goods declaration covered by the warehousing single administrative document is liquidated.

The BOC can track, monitor, and audit the position and condition of containers, as well as receive real-time alarms on, among other things, cargo diversion and tampering, by establishing electronic monitoring of containerized cargo systems (E-TRACC system).

The establishment of the Customs Operations Center serves as the headquarters to integrate and analyze intelligence, enforcement, and operational information gathered from various sources, Guerrero said, while the BOC’s Customer Care Centers allow for uninterrupted shipment processing even during the pandemic, keeping businesses afloat during the crisis.

He noted that the BOC has also purchased 200 body-worn cameras and 20 patrol boats to boost its border protection capabilities between 2016 and 2020.

According to Guerrero, the BOC has reshuffled or transferred 3,855 employees, issued 1,407 show-cause orders, filed administrative cases against 183, transmitted 164 complaints to the Office of the Ombudsman, relieved 192 employees, and dismissed 24 employees under the Duterte administration’s anti-corruption efforts.

According to Guerrero, the bureau was able to handle all 642 citizen concerns filed before it in 2021.

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