BOC and agri stakeholders finally unite

The Bureau of Customs will contribute to agriculture development by providing the necessary support at our borders and through close collaboration with farmers, fisherfolk and agribusiness. This was the commitment made by Bureau of Customs (BOC) Commissioner Bienvenido Rubio last July 9 during a meeting with the public-private Philippine Council of Agriculture and Fisheries Anti-Smuggling Committee (PCAF-ASC).

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This is no surprise. Rubio is known not only in the Philippines, but also throughout Southeast Asia, as a champion of private sector participation in customs administration. In a recent meeting among Asean heads of national customs bodies, Rubio highlighted his establishment of the Customs Industry and Advisory Council (CICAC), which institutionalizes private sector involvement. Several national heads thereafter expressed their desire to do something similar in their own countries.

Consistent with his approach, Rubio met with the PCAF-ASC. Here are three highlights during the meeting.

Undervaluation

A key smuggling indicator using United Nations Comtrade data showed that the difference between what exporting countries reported they gave us, compared to what we reported we received ballooned from P500 million in 2019 to P1.2 trillion in 2021. Much of this was due to undervaluation.

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Rubio encouraged the PCA-ASC to report undervaluation cases and submit invoices with the correct value. Using these invoices would help BOC reject many undervalued “transaction values” that many importers submit.

Some importers claim that this is the only valuation basis allowed by the World Trade Organization (WTO). There are actually six other WTO methods, which the private sector with added expertise can help implement.

Registration

Rodolfo Tamayo, president of the Agriculture Machinery Manufacturers and Distributors Association, Inc. (AMMDA), reported the nonimplementation of this regulation has caused devastating damage to agriculture amid the proliferation of substandard and defective agriculture machineries. This is largely because the required importer accreditation by the Department Agriculture’s Bureau of Agricultural and Fisheries Engineering has been grossly ignored when, in fact, this was given emphasis in Republic Act 10501, or “An Act Promoting Agriculture and Fisheries Mechanization Development in the Country.”

Tamayo has been highlighting this critical issue for a long time, but no action was ever taken. Rubio committed there will be one very soon.

In addition, Tamayo offered the free services of PCAF mechanization committee members in conducting orientation sessions for BOC personnel to better evaluate agriculture machinery imports.

In the 1980s, former AMMDA president and now Philippine Exporters Confederation Inc. president Sergio Ortiz-Luis led this initiative with impressive results, but this was unfortunately terminated.

Agri technical experts

The BOC had previously recognized and accredited private sector industry technical experts (ITEs), but none for agriculture. These ITEs have access to BOC data and help review import documents. They then submit written recommendations to the BOC Commissioner, who responds to each one.

A similar arrangement for agriculture was recommended, which Rubio welcomed. During CICAC’s fifth meeting last July 5, agriculture was represented by less than 5 percent of the participants. With Rubio’s support, more agriculture representation is expected in the future.

The BOC and ASC have agreed to have bimonthly meetings for the key issues raised. For each issue, there will be one identified person each from the BOC and PCAF to facilitate accountability. With this continuing relationship, the BOC and agriculture stakeholders can now work synergistically together for progressive agriculture development.

The author is Agriwatch chair, former secretary of presidential flagship programs and projects, and former undersecretary of the Department of Agriculture and the Department of Trade and Industry. Contact is [email protected]