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Newly-appointed Bureau of Customs Commissioner Ariel Nepomuceno officially assumed office on July 1, replacing Bienvenido Rubio
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Nepomuceno reaffirmed his full commitment to President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr.’s directives, focusing on the agency’s core mandates of boosting revenue collection, facilitating legitimate trade, combating smuggling, and fostering a professional and integrity-driven workforce
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Nepomuceno also emphasized the importance of continuity and collaboration, pledging to build on the gains achieved by BOC under Rubio while also introducing strategic innovations in digitalization, enforcement, and stakeholder engagement
Newly-appointed Bureau of Customs (BOC) Commissioner Ariel Nepomuceno officially assumed office on July 1, replacing Bienvenido Rubio.
Nepomuceno reaffirmed his full commitment to President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr.’s directives, focusing on the agency’s core mandates of boosting revenue collection, facilitating legitimate trade, combating smuggling, and fostering a professional and integrity-driven workforce, BOC said in a statement.
Nepomuceno also emphasized the importance of continuity and collaboration, pledging to build on the gains achieved by BOC under Rubio while also introducing strategic innovations in digitalization, enforcement, and stakeholder engagement.
Rubio, who led the BOC from February 2023 to June 2025, expressed his full support for Nepomuceno and the agency’s ongoing transformation.
During Rubio’s tenure, BOC surpassed its revenue collection targets, recording P883 billion in 2023 and P916 billion in 2024. Parallel enforcement gains also saw seizures jump from P43.29 billion worth of illicit goods in 2023 to P85.16 billion in 2024 through more than 2,100 operations.
On the digital reform front, 161 of 166 core customs processes were automated, achieving a 96.99% digitalization rate and sharply reducing face to face transactions, BOC noted.
Key trade facilitation tools launched during Rubio’s term include the Enhanced e-Travel Customs System, Overstaying Cargo Tracking System, ATA Carnet Monitoring System, and the National Customs Intelligence System— platforms that collectively streamline declarations, track cargo in real time, and integrate data sharing across agencies for faster, more transparent border clearance.
Nepomuceno officially took his oath of office on June 30.
Prior to his appointment, he 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.
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.
