(PHOTO VIA BOC / MANILA BULLETIN)
Imported alcoholic beverages were also found stored in the private warehouse in Pajo, Meycauayan during an inspection conducted by the Manila International Container Port’s (MICP) intelligence and enforcement teams.
Armed with a letter of authority signed by Customs Commissioner Rey Leonardo Guerrero, the team from Customs Intelligence and Investigation Service, Enforcement and Security Service, Philippine Coast Guard, and the National Bureau of Investigation proceeded to the warehouse on Dec. 10 and discovered that the facility was storing imported alcoholic beverages and suspected counterfeit products such as bags and other food items.
The warehouse has been sealed and placed under Customs custody as further inventory and investigation were conducted.
COUNTERFEIT goods worth at least P15 million were seized by operatives of the Customs Investigation and Intelligence Service-Manila International Container Port (CIIS-MICP) following a raid on a private warehouse in Meycauayan, Bulacan.
In an after operations report to Customs Commissioner Rey Leonardo Guerrero, CIIS authorities said that found inside the warehouse were counterfeit bags and other food items and alcoholic beverages.
Intelligence group chief Deputy Commissioner Rainiel Ramro said the warehouse has been sealed and placed under Customs custody for further inventory and investigation.
He added that the importer of the hot goods also faces charges for violation of Republic Act (RA) 10863, also known as the Customs Modernization and Tariff Act (CMTA), and the Intellectual Property Laws (IPL) for importing counterfeit products.
(photo from BOC)
In a ceremony, the bureau formally launched its Customs Operations Center to command and control the intelligence and enforcement operations of its 17 collection districts around the country.
The facility is designed to house the different intelligence, enforcement, risk management, and scanning systems of the Customs bureau.
It will also oversee the intelligence database, electronic tracking of containerized cargo (E-TRACC) and the vessel monitoring system.
The command center will also have the capabilities to utilize the universal risk management system (URMS) and provide remote access to the scanning or X-ray systems of the bureau under the X-ray Inspection Project.
(BOC / MANILA BULLETIN)
Under a Memorandum of Agreement signed on Dec. 15, a TWG on strategic trade facilitation (STF) was created to establish communication mechanisms and procedures, organize and implement commodity identification training (CIT) for frontline and enforcement officers, and streamline documentary requirements.
Customs Commissioner Rey Leonardo Guerrero said they entered into an agreement with the DTI in a bid to increase the overall efficiency of the trade environment in the country.
Other parties in the pact are the Strategic Trade Management Office (STMO), Authority of the Freeport of Area Bataan, Clark Development Corp., Philippine Economic Zone Authority, and Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority.
(MANILA BULLETIN)
On December 15, 2020, the BOC entered into a Memorandum of Agreement with the Strategic Trade Management Office (STMO), Authority of the Freeport of Area Bataan (AFAB), Clark Development Corporation (CDC), Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) and Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA).
The partnership aims to establish an effective coordination and cooperation mechanism towards enhanced trade facilitation, optimize information sharing, boost the capability of front liners to identify strategic goods, and reduce the complexity of doing business of legitimate and compliant strategic goods exporters.
This effort, headed by the DTI, is in consonance with Republic Act No. 10697 otherwise known as the “Strategic Trade Management Act” (STMA), authorizing the establishment of STMO to serve as the executive and technical agency of the national government for the establishment of the management systems for the trade in strategic goods.