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The Bureau of Customs and the Philippine Chamber of Customs Brokers, Inc. established a partnership to promote integrity, accountability, professionalism, and modernization in customs administration
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The partnership extends the BOC’s IAM BOC Movement to customs brokers, industry professionals, and educational institutions through ethics, values formation, and professional development programs
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Both organizations will coordinate integrity and transformation initiatives across customs ports and PCCBI chapters nationwide
The Bureau of Customs (BOC) and the Philippine Chamber of Customs Brokers, Inc. (PCCBI) formalized a partnership to promote integrity, accountability, professionalism, and modernization in customs administration.
The memorandum of agreement was signed on October 16, 2026 by Customs commissioner Ariel Nepomuceno and PCCBI national president Atty. Norberto Castillo during the chamber’s 34th National Convention, themed “PCCBI: Stronger Through Change, Empowering Resilient and Ethical Customs Brokers in a Shifting Global Trade Landscape.”
Titled “The Institutionalization of Integrity, Accountability, and Modernization through Transformational Change in the Philippine Customs Service,” the agreement advances the BOC’s IAM BOC Movement by extending reforms to customs brokers, industry professionals, and schools.
For present and future professionals
Under the agreement, the two organizations will coordinate integrity and transformation programs at customs ports and PCCBI chapters nationwide, appoint coordinators to oversee implementation, and collaborate with educational institutions that offer Customs Administration programs to promote ethical values among future customs professionals.
In his address at the convention, Nepomuceno said meaningful reforms require the participation of customs personnel and industry stakeholders, emphasizing their shared responsibility in improving customs operations.
“The reform agenda is not limited to BOC. The problem of the BOC is the problem of the entire country. Especially you, we work with you, you are most affected if BOC is inefficient, efficient, good or bad,” Nepomuceno said in mixed English and Filipino.
“So we must join our efforts, we must do our best together to improve the Bureau of Customs,” he added.
The customs chief also highlighted the development of the Customs Processing System (CPS), which aims to automate key procedures, including document submission, assessment, payment, and the release of goods.
The system is part of the bureau’s broader modernization efforts to improve processing efficiency while supporting customs brokers in facilitating legitimate trade.
Existing partnership covers cargo inspections
The latest agreement builds on earlier cooperation between the BOC and PCCBI to improve transparency and accountability in cargo examination.
In November 2025, the BOC-Manila International Container Port (MICP) and PCCBI signed a separate agreement authorizing chamber representatives to witness physical examinations of containers when consignees or their authorized representatives are absent.
Under that arrangement, PCCBI personnel may be stationed at MICP’s designated examination area from 8 a.m. to noon, Mondays through Fridays, to witness inspections when the consignee or an authorized representative is unavailable.
The agreement was intended to help ensure that cargo examinations are properly witnessed while reducing delays that can contribute to port congestion and operational inefficiencies. Both parties recognized that the presence of PCCBI representatives could “contribute to operational efficiency, transparency, and accountability.”
The BOC and PCCBI said their broader partnership would continue to advance the IAM BOC Movement, strengthen ethical standards, and promote a more efficient, transparent, and accountable customs administration through public-private sector collaboration.
