THE PHILIPPINES and Indonesia have agreed to strengthen their anti-smuggling efforts and are proceeding with direct contact between the two countries’ Customs agencies, the Department of Finance (DoF) said.
In a statement yesterday, the DoF said that Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III and Indonesian Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati have instructed their respective customs bureaus to more closely monitor illicit trade.
“I note in particular your view that it is not possible to tackle illicit trade without synergy. Therefore, Indonesia is open to work together with the Philippines in enhancing cooperation on combating illicit trade,” the DoF quoted Ms. Indrawati as saying in her letter to Mr. Dominguez.
“In this regard, I suggest your Bureau of Customs to directly liaise with DGCE (Directorate General of Customs and Excise) to further explore the possibility to enhance the cooperation,” she added.
Ms. Indrawati was responding to Mr. Dominguez’s call for the Philippines and Indonesia to work closely in curbing smuggling during the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Finance Ministers’ Meeting in May.
Mr. Dominguez said that it would benefit both countries “not only in terms of boosting customs collections, but also in terms of preventing the entry of illegal goods in our respective borders.”
“From the recent AFMM (ASEAN Finance Ministers’ Meeting), we note much progress has been achieved in our regional initiatives to support trade, such as in the various Protocols under the ASEAN Framework Agreement on the Facilitation of Goods in Transit (AFAFGIT) and the ASEAN Single Window,” Mr. Dominguez said in his letter to Ms. Indrawati.
He said that “more effort needs to be done in terms of regional cooperation in countering illicit cross-border trade.”
The Philippines in March signed an agreement to setup a data exchange system to streamline the sharing of trade information with China as an anti-smuggling measure.
The DoF said that it wants to sign similar agreements with Japan, South Korea, and the US.
In the nine months to September, the Bureau of Customs collected P434.6 billion, up 34% year-on-year, and exceeding its P417.5 billion target by 4%. The bureau has so far raised 72.68% of its full-year target. — Elijah Joseph C. Tubayan
