Customs operates 24/7, PBBM orders

President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. issued an order for the Bureau of Customs (BoC) and Department of Agriculture (DA) to have non-stop deployment personnel to guarantee 24-hour shipment processing across the country.

Based on information from the Private Sector Advisory Council’s (PSAC) fourth meeting last Wednesday which was only made public on Thursday, Marcos said that three eight-hour shifts should be implemented to guarantee rhythmic operations in all government supply chain and logistical services.

Marcos also emphasized the need for the ongoing cargo process to allow for the entry of more vessels into the country after PSAC recommended allowing BoC and DA to have a shifting schedule to make seamless 24/7 operations.

The PSAC said this move would ensure continuous inspection, clearance and payment process, significantly reducing costs and time, particularly on the X-ray scanning operations of the BoC and DA’s office tasked to inspect reefer vans.

Keep things running

“In this business, there’s no afterhours. It can — it’s ready 24/7. So, let’s not put an extra team, let’s just keep it running. Whatever you have there in the day, let the same number of people that you have all 24 hours,” Marcos said.

“So, three eight-hour shifts,” Marcos added.

President and CEO of Aboitiz Equity Ventures Inc., Sabin Aboitiz, PSAC Strategic convenor, gave President Marcos their proposals during the meeting.

The PSAC was founded during the Marcos era to assist the government in fulfilling its pledge to integrate the public and private sectors to improve the Philippine economy. Experts from the six primary sectoral areas of jobs, digital infrastructure, health care, infrastructure and tourism lead it.