THE Bureau of Customs (BOC) aimed to go full digital by 2026, with “almost 94 percent” of its systems computerized so far.
The agency’s modernization project is ongoing with the help of an $88-million loan from the World Bank, said BOC spokesperson Vincent Philip Maronilla.
The loan seeks to “improve the country’s customs administration, reduce transaction costs and enhance predictability and transparency of the clearance process at the country’s borders,” according to the BOC website.
“Itong 94 percent na na-digitalize natin will be further improved and will be further coordinated with all other agencies and will be at par with the other progressive customs administration sa ibang bansa once na makumpleto natin itong customs modernization project,” Maronilla said.
“[‘Yung sa World Bank ay] para ma-modernize ang buong Customs processing system at ‘yung ating x-ray at backup system natin,” he said in a public briefing.
The World Bank said the Philippines’ growth potential, prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, was constrained by inefficiencies in trade facilitation and customs administration.
It takes a container around 120 hours to clear customs and related procedures in the Philippines, far from Vietnam’s 56 hours, Thailand’s 50 hours and Malaysia’s 36 hours, the bank said.
For its part, the Presidential Communications Office, citing President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr., earlier said that businessmen had “major complaints” about the “inefficiency of the country’s airports and seaports.”
The current systems in place are “quite ineffective,” said Marcos, given that paper trails have made it difficult to go after smugglers. (ABS-CBN News)
