Customs to use automated system vs smugglers

The Bureau of Customs (BOC) will set up an automated operating system to scan import declarations on a real time basis to intensify the campaign against smuggling and terrorism.

Customs Commissioner Napoleon Morales told reporters that with the new system, the bureau would no longer depend solely on the integrity of import declarations.

"Intelligence analysts will also be provided with vital information to detect possible violation," he said.

Morales, who heads the government’s Run After the Smugglers (RATS) program, said in setting up the new system, the bureau will purchase high-tech equipment and completely automate customs procedures.

The funds for the project could come from the $3 million grant from the United States Agency for International Development under its Millennium Challenge Account for the RATS program, he added.

The fund would primarily be used to procure surveillance equipment and high-tech machines to secure evidence against smugglers and terrorists, Morales said.

The BOC has been taking steps to address the needs of local port users using the five key areas — revenue enhancement, trade facilitation, enforcement, professionalism and computerization.

The reform is underway, and the drive against illegal activities within the agency will be intensified, he added.

Recently, the Port Users Confederation (PUC) asked the BOC to fast-track its computerization program and implement the single-window transaction. — Edu Punay