MANILA, Philippines — The government has activated a one-stop shop that will operate 24/7 to fast-track entry of imported medical and emergency supplies while the country is fighting the COVID-19 disease.
Under the 18-page Joint Administrative Order (JAO) No. 1-2020 issued by eight agencies and the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) last week, relief consignments will be expedited by the Philippine International Humanitarian Assistance Reception Center One-Stop Shop (PIHARC-OSS) facility created under an NDRRMC memorandum circular in 2017.
“The PIHARC-OSS shall be directly responsible for the facilitation of the issuance of permits, licenses, documentations and entitlement of entry as relief consignments including their expedited release from customs custody,” the joint order read.
It will also allow duty- and tax-free entry of relief goods in coordination with the Department of Finance’s (DOF) Revenue Office.
PIHARC-OSS will be set up at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Naia) customhouse.
Since President Rodrigo Duterte last week placed the Philippines under a state of calamity due to the COVID-19 pandemic, incoming food, medicines, medical supplies, clothing and other in-kind donations as well as shelter equipment and materials entering the country were to be considered as relief goods.
However, the following items cannot qualify as donations: used clothing, infant formula and breast milk substitute, feeding bottles and artificial nipples, goods directly or indirectly coming from tobacco industries, as well as vehicles, save for special purpose vehicles which can be tapped during relief, search and rescue operations.
Besides the NDRRMC chaired by the Department of National Defense (DND), the other agencies that were signatories to the joint order included the DOF, the Department of Health (DOH), the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), the Department of Education (DepEd), the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), the Department of Agriculture (DA), and the Bureau of Customs (BOC).
In the case of the BOC, Customs Commissioner Rey Leonardo B. Guerrero also last week moved to provide provisional goods declaration for relief consignment under a state of calamity.
Under the memorandum signed by Guerrero last Wednesday, “effective immediately, goods declaration involving donations for relief consignment may be provisionally declared in accordance with Customs Memorandum Order (CMO) No. 7-2020,” referring to the earlier interim procedure issued by the BOC covering provisional goods declaration.
Guerrero said the provisional declaration will be subject to the following conditions: the donee must be a government agency, such as the DOH; and the consignee must issue an undertaking to submit lacking document/s within 45 days after the shipment was released as well as distribute or use the goods only after the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) or other regulatory agencies already cleared them when required.
“The lacking document may include, among others, the tax exemption indorsement (TEI) from the DOF. For exigency in the release of the goods, the received copy of the application for TEI shall be dispensed with,” Guerrero said.
Guerrero added that these products will come in duty- and tax-free.
“The goods shall be considered as relief consignment, as defined in Section 120 of the Customs Modernization and Tariff Act (CMTA), imported during a state of calamity and intended for a specific calamity area for the use of the calamity victims therein. As such these shall be exempt from duties and taxes pursuant to Section 121 of the CMTA. While the goods shall be released under tentative assessment, the posting of bond for the release thereof is not required,” Guerrero said.
The assessment will be deemed completed once all pending documents were received by the BOC.
“The district collector shall immediately clear the goods for release to the consignee upon receipt of the undertaking. Pursuant to Section 120 of the CMTA, the port shall allow the following: lodging, registering and checking of the provisional goods declaration and supporting documents prior to the arrival of the goods, and their release upon arrival; clearance beyond the designated hours of business or away from customs offices and waiver of any corresponding charges; and examination and/or sampling of goods only in exceptional circumstances,” according to Guerrero.
Between March 9 and March 19, the BOC already released 316 shipments containing personal protective equipment and medical supply from Naia, Manila International Container Port (MICP), Clark International Airport, as well as the ports of Cebu, Clark and Davao.
As of Friday, a total of 345 shipments were processed, with 29 pending their release.