Customs commissioner Alberto Lina is requiring district and subport collectors to submit weekly reports of alert and hold orders they have issued.
“In view of the principle of trade facilitation and in order to avoid additional port congestion, this Office, hereby direct all district and its sub-port offices, to submit a report of all Alert/Hold Orders issued, properly filled-up with its disposition and updated/ current statuses on a weekly basis,” Lina said in a memorandum dated June 4.
The weekly report will be submitted every Monday and began on June 8.
It would include the alert/hold order number and date of issuance, bill of lading number, entry number, container number, consignee, description, status update with reason and explanation, and additional duties and taxes paid.
Status report
Prior to this memorandum, Lina issued a May 28 memorandum requesting for a status report on all alert/hold orders issued by Bureau of Customs (BOC) groups and offices covering the period of January to April 2015.
Lina said the report is “part of the Bureau’s efforts to promote transparency and accountability in the execution of duties and responsibilities with regard to the issuance/lifting of Alert/Hold Orders and protect the integrity of legitimate importers against unnecessary delay in the release of their lawful importation.”
Lina also requested that all issued alert/hold orders “that were not served to the importer/broker” be included in the report.
Submission of such reports is expected no later than June 11.
Some stakeholders had earlier expressed concern over the significant increase in the number of alert and hold orders, which they said had contributed to the Manila port congestion. They complained that a high volume of containers had been stuck inside ports due to the intensified issuance of such orders, not just in Manila, but also in other ports including Cebu. – Roumina Pablo
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