BOC seizes ¥10M undeclared cash at NAIA

The Bureau of Customs–Ninoy Aquino International Airport (BOC-NAIA) reported intercepting undeclared foreign currency amounting to ¥10 million, or around P3.7 million, from an arriving passenger at NAIA Terminal 1.

BOC on Saturday said the incident took place on 29 November. Of the total amount, only ¥1.56 million (around USD 10,000) was returned to the passenger. The remaining amount, estimated at P3.17 million, was confiscated since authorities confirmed that the passenger did not declare the funds as required through the e-travel system.

According to BOC-NAIA, the failure to declare the brought-in cash constitutes violations of Sections 117, 1400, and 1401 of the Customs Modernization and Tariff Act, which require proper declarations for regulated goods, penalize misdeclaration, misclassification, undervaluation, and prohibit unlawful importation.

BOC-NAIA said its airport enforcement teams continue to tighten inspection procedures to reinforce border security.