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The Bureau of Customs has cleared 15,940 shipments of personal protective equipment and medical equipment since March 2020, while 35 shipments of COVID-19 vaccines have been cleared since February 2021
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The 35 vaccine shipments consisted of 17.464 million doses that arrived in the Philippines between February 28 and June 28, 2021
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Most of the vaccine and PPE shipments were processed by BOC-Ninoy Aquino International Airport through a one-stop shop to expedite their clearance
The Bureau of Customs (BOC) has cleared 15,940 shipments of personal protective equipment (PPE) and medical equipment since March 2020 and 35 shipments of COVID-19 vaccines since February 2021.
The 35 shipments of vaccines consisting of 17.464 million doses arrived in the country between February 28 and June 29, 2021, BOC said in a statement.
Of the total, 12 million doses were from China’s Sinovac Biotech Ltd., 2.556 million were from the United Kingdom’s AstraZeneca, 2.478 million were from US-based Pfizer-BioNTech, 249,600 were from US-based Moderna, and 180,000 were Russia’s Sputnik V vaccines.
Most of the vaccine shipments were processed by BOC-Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA), which has been implementing a one-stop shop to expedite the clearance of vaccine, PPE and medical equipment shipments.
The vaccine shipments, in particular, underwent advance clearance process to ensure quick release and delivery, and were underguarded to the temporary storage by BOC’s CoVax Special Handling Taskforce. The team is composed of BOC-NAIA’s Enforcement and Security Service and Aircraft Operations Division members as well as customs examiners.
BOC said it has also been closely coordinating with the Department of Health and the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases on the immediate clearance of the vaccine and PPE shipments.
