The Bureau of Customs (BOC) and Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) have signed a memorandum of agreement (MOA) renewing their commitment against illegal drugs and their partnership to strengthen border security.
The MOA was signed on July 14 by Customs commissioner Rey Leonardo Guerrero and newly-installed PDEA director general Wilkins Villanueva. Villanueva is not a stranger at the BOC; he had a two-month stint as director of BOC’s Customs Intelligence and Investigation Service in 2017 before returning to PDEA.
In a statement, BOC said the MOA will “further improve intelligence sharing and operational coordination between the BOC and PDEA.”
It said the partnership between the agencies has “to date resulted in billions of pesos worth of illegal drugs, paraphernalia, apparatus and equipment.”
The customs bureau said it remains committed in its mandate to protect the country’s border and enforce provisions of Republic Act (RA) 9165 or the Anti-Dangerous Drugs Act, and RA 10863 or the Customs Modernization and Tariff Act.
