Customs Commissioner Napoleon Morales said he has recently forged a memorandum of agreement (MOA) with Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) that gives the bureau the task to monitor the transport of Philippine currency outside the country.
Under the agreement, which was also signed by Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA), Philippine National Police (PNP), Bureau of Immigration (BI), Air Transportation Office (ATO) and the Philippine Ports Authority (PPA), the BOC has been given a more active role of examining baggage and apprehending currencies in excess of P10,000 or $10,000, or their equivalent as prescribed by the law.
Morales said the bureau has been commissioned to conduct examination of baggage of departing and arriving passengers in the presence of the owner and the screening officer.
He said upon detection of violation of BSP circulars, the BOC examiner on duty shall immediately inform the flight supervisor, duty collector, or the Customs collector.
The 100-percent examination or actual cash count would be conducted inside the BOC exclusion room in airports so as not to disrupt the smooth flow of passenger processing operations and avoid undue embarrassment to the person being questioned.
In terms of inventory, the authorized Customs personnel must include the detailed inventory in a BOC Inventory Report Form duly signed by inventory personnel while the physical count and transfer of the confiscated currencies shall be conducted in the presence of security personnel from the airport police, X-ray unit, Enforcement and Security Services-Customs Intelligence and Investigation Services (ESS-CIIS) and the passenger to promote transparency in the procedures.
Morales said the Customs collector would retain the power to issue warrants for seizure and detention after reviewing recommendations of Customs examiner, PNP-ASG, BSP and Anti Money Laundering Council representatives.
Under BSP rules, all cash and foreign exchange-denominated bearer monetary instrument in excess of $10,000 should be declared in the Customs Declaration Form or FCD Form at the customs arrival or departure area. Violators shall be charged criminally while any person found to be taking out of the country over P10,000 in cash without prior authority from the BSP shall also face similar charges in court.
The Customs chief believes the bureau is capable of implementing the BSP regulations, citing the successful confiscation at the airport of over P30 million worth of undeclared jewelries from four passengers upon examination of Customs personnel.
In the said incident, airport operatives were alerted by the IEG to the arrival of four women believed to be carrying the jewels, which they did not declare to evade taxes.
However, inspection at the examination room had yielded diamond-encrusted jewelries in their baggage that were properly seized by Customs personnel without causing a commotion at the regular inspection area. Seizure and forfeiture proceedings have already been initiated because of the seized items. — Edu Punay