The Bureau of Customs (BOC) Port of Manila (POM) has inaugurated its new prefabricated office building that will house the collection district’s operations and administrative offices.
Construction of the new office building started after the historic Port of Manila building was razed by fire on February 22, 2019 and deemed unsafe for occupation.
READ: BOC-POM fire won’t disrupt services; Temporary location of AMO, other BOC offices affected by fire identified
Inaugurated on October 12, the 1,004-square-meter office space is a bi-level structure made of prefabricated materials that are designed for quick assembly and disassembly as needed, BOC said in a statement. It is designed to maximize flow of transactions to enhance efficiency and coordination among the occupants, with a centralized public address system installed to enable quick information dissemination.
BOC earlier said the prefabricated building cost an estimated P23.28 million.
Customs Commissioner Rey Guerrero lauded POM’s personnel for continuing to carry on their work in makeshift offices or in other BOC offices after their former building was destroyed.
BOC-POM district collector Michael Angelo Vargas said the collection district has changed its slogan from “Bangon POM” (Arise POM) to “Bagong POM” (New POM) with the opening of the new building.
