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The new officers and trustees of the Philippine Chamber of Customs Brokers, Inc. for 2025-2027 officially took their oath of office on April 2 before Customs Commissioner Bienvenido Rubio
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In leading the chamber, PCCBI president Norberto Castillo said they ‘should always be bannered by this equation: good governance plus inclusivity equals excellence’
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Projects in the pipeline include amendment of the BOC order on brokers’ fees, amendment of PCCBI’s by-laws, and further improvement of the mobile application
The new officers and trustees of the Philippine Chamber of Customs Brokers, Inc. (PCCBI) for 2025-2027 officially took their oath of office on April 2 before Customs Commissioner Bienvenido Rubio.
The new PCCBI leaders who were elected last March are the following:
- Atty Norberto Castillo, president
- Atty. Julius Basas, executive vice president
- Jill Tolentino, vice president for internal affairs
- Wilfredo Caingcoy, vice president for professional development
- Adones Carmona, vice president for international affairs
- Reffy Gorre, vice president for government affairs
- Jovet King Dimaculangan, secretary
- Maria Theresa Santos, treasurer
- Joeven Gilbuena, auditor
- Dexter Pedreza, PRO
- Atty. Ferdinand Nague, trustee
- Atty. Alex Calderon, trustee
- Dr. Dennis del Pilar, trustee
- Kirk Buduan, trustee
- Angelica Paclipan, trustee
READ: Lawyer Castillo elected PCCBI president
In leading the chamber, “PCCBI should always be bannered by this equation: good governance plus inclusivity equals excellence,” Castillo said in a speech during the ceremony.
He said the association, not just during this term, should have good governance, which means there is accountability, transparency, proactivity, vision and quality, and inclusivity.
As an association with the sole purpose of serving its members, Castillo said the leaders “should be held accountable for all the acts that we do” and should be transparent in all dealings of the association to ensure members’ trust.
As for plans and projects, Castillo said there are “plenty” in the pipeline.
These include, among others, the “long overdue” amendment of the Bureau of Customs’ (BOC) Customs Administrative Order (CAO) No. 01-2001, which prescribes the customs brokers fees, and amendment of PCCBI’s by-laws to address certain concerns.
Since the new PCCBI leaders come from two teams who have their own platforms during the campaign period for the election, Castillo said they plan to soon hold a strategic planning session to identify which projects will need to be prioritized and those that will be for the medium- and long-term so they can “achieve all” in the “little time that we have” during their two-year term.
For the long-term, though, Castillo said they hope to at least “lay down the foundation” for the amendment of Republic Act (R.A.) No. 10836, or the Customs Modernization and Tariff Act (CMTA), and R.A. No. 9280 or the Customs Brokers Act of 2004.
Aside from amending the contested declarant provision of the CMTA, Castillo said they hope to revise redundant provisions and further improve the law. Castillo noted, for example, that BOC has been driving automation of processes but the CMTA still requires hard copies.
PCCBI is also looking to further improve their mobile application, which is envisioned to cater to all the necessary transactions of the members, including the monitoring of their continuing professional development compliance, application for Certificate of Good Standing, and checking of arrears.
As part of their transparency, Castillo said he also intends to provide members with monthly updates on the status of plans and programs and have key performance indicators that will identify timelines and which PCCBI officer is responsible for the project.
“To the members, I think they can be assured that we will deliver on our campaign promises,” Castillo said.
PCCBI is the accredited integrated professional organization of customs brokers in the country with chapters in Bataan, Batangas, Bicol, Bohol, CARAGA, Cebu, Davao, General Santos, Northern Luzon, Northern Mindanao, Southwestern Mindanao, Subic-Clark, Western Visayas-Iloilo, and its first international chapter in Singapore. Formerly named Chamber of Customs Brokers, Inc., the organization officially changed its name last year. – Roumina Pablo
