BOC eyes xrays in forwarders’ premises for balikbayan box inspection

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One of the government's cargo x-ray units, located at the Subic freeport.
One of the government's cargo x-ray units, located at the Subic freeport.
One of the government’s cargo x-ray machines, located at the Subic freeport.

Customs commissioner Alberto Lina said the Bureau of Customs (BOC) will follow President Aquino’s instructions to subject balikbayan (personal effects) boxes to mandatory x-ray and K-9 examination instead of random physical inspection.

In a statement, Lina said the agency will “ensure the necessary checks, balances, and witnesses are present in the event that a physical inspection is made.

“Moving forward, we will seek the help of our freight forwarder companies to install their own x-ray machines in their warehouses following specifications that Customs will require to expedite clearance of our OFWs’ balikbayan boxes, while at the same time protecting our borders from contraband and smuggled items.”

Asked for comment, Ramon Ungco, director of the Door-to-Door Consolidators Association of the Philippines, told PortCalls in a text message that the “inspection of inbound cargoes is the responsibility of the BOC. They should not pass the burden to freight forwarders.”

He added that K-9 dogs “can only sniff bombs and drugs and it will be useless to sniff out commercial items in balikbayan boxes”, adding x-ray machines are “enough to know contents of balikbayan boxes incoming in airports and seaports.”

An x-ray machine (at least the ones deployed in the country’s biggest seaports) can cost around $2.5 million each, based on an earlier statement made by Senator Ralph Recto. Recto said the BOC in 2006 loaned US$75 million from China to acquire 30 cargo x-rays.

Smaller ones can still cost tens of thousands of dollars.

Lina said BOC is also looking at ways to acquire K9 dogs and additional CCTV cameras for its ports through emergency procurement.

The customs chief likewise urged “colleagues in government to prioritize the Customs Modernization and Tariff Act (CMTA) pending in Congress so we can harmonize, modernize and simplify our Customs procedures, superseding policies and procedures that have not been updated as far back as 1957.”

Under the CMTA, Lina said “it is important to note that we have been pushing for the increase of the de minimis value, or the threshold value for taxable imported goods, from the current P10 in duties, taxes and charges for the benefit of our OFW kababayans.”

BOC enjoined the public to report employees who commit unauthorized physical inspections of balikbayan boxes and submit photos and videos with details of these acts to BOC’s help desk so the agency can act on them. — Roumina Pablo