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Ariel Nepomuceno appointed Bureau of Customs commissioner
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Nepomuceno was previously executive director of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council and Undersecretary at the Office of Civil Defense
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He also held the positions of assistant commissioner (Post Clearance Audit Group) and deputy commissioner for the Enforcement Group at the BOC
President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr has appointed Ariel Nepomuceno as the new Bureau of Customs commissioner.
Nepomuceno, who replaces Bienvenido Rubio, took his oath before Marcos on June 30. Rubio held the position of customs chief from July 2022.
Prior to his appointment, Nepomuceno served as undersecretary of the Office of Civil Defense and executive director of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council.
Nepomuceno is no stranger to the BOC. He also held the positions of deputy commissioner for the Enforcement Group (December 2013 to February 2017) and assistant commissioner for Post-Clearance Audit Group (December 2017 to April 2018) at the agency.
Rubio tendered his courtesy resignation in May this year following Marcos’ call for agency heads to resign so he can “reset” the administration. Marcos had initially retained Rubio so the appointment of Nepomuceno came as a complete surprise to BOC officials contacted by PortCalls.
Nepomuceno also served as director and CEO of the Office of Civil Defense under the Department of National Defense from December 2012 to March 2013, and as a consultant at the Office of the President in 2003.
In the early 2000s, he held executive positions at Food Terminal Inc. and Avalon Pacific Corporation, where he started his career as vice president for operations in 1997.
Most recently, since 2019, Nepomuceno served as chairman and CEO of Malayan Pacific Power Holdings Corporation.
The new Customs chief graduated magna cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts in History degree from the University of the Philippines in 1989. He studied briefly in the Military Science and Tactics program of the Philippine Military Academy. In 2022, he graduated with an Executive MBA from the Washington Sycip Graduate School of Business of the Asian Institute of Management.
Finance Secretary Ralph Recto welcomed the appointment of Nepomuceno and extended his gratitude to former Rubio for his “leadership in enhancing trade and customs operations in the Philippines.”
The BOC is an attached agency of the Department of Finance.
