BOC officials off for seminar on high-risk cargo

MANILA, Philippines – Officials of the Bureau of Customs will take part in a US-sponsored seminar in Vietnam on how to identify high-risk cargo.

Customs Deputy Commissioner Rolando Ligon said the seminar on “Container at Rest is a Container at Risk: A Global Customs Initiative Training Seminar for Southeast Asia” will be held in Hanoi on Nov. 3 to 7.

“The direction of the US is toward security,” he said. “We are particularly concerned with the security rules that they would be implementing before they would allow a container van to reach their shores.”

“Millions of containers from different ports arrive at the US every day. They just want to make sure that the container vans going to their country would not conceal weapons of mass destruction (WMD),” he added.

Ligon said it was necessary that they attend the seminar to maintain and improve trade relations with the US.

“We are starting to comply already and we have even acquired X-ray machines because if we do not comply this could lead to the delay in the arrival of shipments and some US businesses might decide to no longer buy our export products,” he said.

The US accounts for 30 to 40 percent of the Philippine exports, he added.

Ligon said their funding allowance would come from the US and that it would conform with the regulations of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas.

Customs delegates will receive $30 (roughly 480,000 dong or P1,500) for transportation and other expenses from the US Trade and Development Agency (USTDA), along with hotel accommodations and morning meals, he added.

Their airfare will also be charged to the USTDA, Ligon said.

The BOC delegation will be headed by Deputy Commissioner Reynaldo Nicolas of the Assessment and Operations Coordinating Group, Ligon, Collector Ronnie Silvestre of the Port of Davao, Collector Gerardo Macatangay, chief of the Inspection Division of the Port of Manila, Ernesto Pineda, and Rico Reyes Jr. of the Office of the Commissioner. – Evelyn Macairan