BOC revives manual customs declaration form

MANILA, Philippines — The Bureau of Customs (BOC) is moving to revive the use of the manual customs baggage declaration form for all incoming international passengers arriving at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) who fail to fill out an online customs declaration form.

BOC-NAIA district collector Yasmin Mapa said international passengers, including airline crew, would be asked to fill out a customs baggage declaration form, either online or manual, that should be submitted to customs officers at the BOC counters for clearance.

The mandatory production of declaration forms was suspended in 2017 due to complaints of congestion in the customs arrival area.

“Customs wants incoming passengers to declare what they are carrying or the contents of their luggage through baggage declaration or the electronic customs baggage declaration form, which may now be accessed at the e-travel customs system via online,” Mapa said.

The BOC is closely coordinating with the Airlines Operators Council to load customs baggage declaration forms for distribution during flights to the Philippines.