Philippines customs agency to pilot processing system at NAIA, Batangas port

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Highlights

Philippines Bureau of Customs will pilot a Japan-inspired Customs Processing System at NAIA and Port of Batangas to improve efficiency and trade facilitation.
Customs Commissioner Ariel F. Nepomuceno led a delegation to Japan from Oct. 21 to 23 to study NACCS and enhance border security and service quality.
The bureau plans further system rollout at Cebu or Davao following initial pilots, with expanded cooperation on intelligence sharing and anti-smuggling enforcement discussed with Japanese counterparts.

Japan-based system shapes rollout plan

As reported by BusinessWorld Online, the Bureau of Customs said it will pilot-test a Customs Processing System at NAIA and the Port of Batangas based on features studied from Japan’s Nippon Automated Cargo and Port Consolidated System, or NACCS.

Customs Commissioner Ariel F. Nepomuceno said in a weekend statement that the agency aims to make customs procedures faster, more efficient and more responsive to businesses and the public. He said lessons from Japan’s experience can help improve trade facilitation, strengthen border security and raise service quality.

Nepomuceno led a delegation to Japan from Oct. 21 to 23 to study NACCS, an integrated digital platform that streamlines customs and trade-related transactions. The bureau said the lessons from the system are expected to support ongoing work to improve its own CPS and further modernize customs operations.

Broader modernization and enforcement agenda

The Bureau of Customs is still choosing between Cebu and Davao for the next pilot site, indicating that the initial rollout at NAIA and Batangas could be followed by further expansion in other major gateways.

During the Japan visit, the delegation met with Japan’s Customs and Tariff Bureau, the Regional Intelligence Liaison Office for Asia/Pacific, Tokyo Customs, Yokohama Customs and the Japan International Cooperation Agency. Discussions also covered intelligence sharing, coordinated enforcement against transnational smuggling, risk-based inspection and border protection practices, while talks at JICA headquarters focused on possible continued technical cooperation and capacity-building.

Our earlier article on the Philippines’ expanded access to Malaysia’s halal import market explained how a fourth local certification body gained recognition from Malaysia’s regulator, giving exporters more options when targeting that tightly regulated market. We noted that widening the pool of internationally accepted certifiers supports a broader push to grow halal-linked exports, tourism, and investment by strengthening the country’s compliance and trade infrastructure.

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