Manila, Philippines, November 2021 – In conformance with the Bureau of Customs’ commitments to the ASEAN, several Customs Officials composing the Philippine Delegation recently attended the 35th Meeting of the ASEAN Coordinating Committee on Customs (CCC), which took place via Video Conference from 23-25 November 2021, chaired by Collector Wilnora L. Cawile, Head of the External Affairs Office.

The Philippine Delegation was comprised of the different permanent representatives of the three working groups under the CCC namely the Customs Enforcement and Compliance Working Group (CECWG), Customs Capacity Building Working Group (CCBWG), the Customs Procedures and Trade Facilitation Working Group (CPTFWG) and the sub-working groups under its purview.

Commissioner Rey Leonardo B. Guerrero, the incumbent Chairman of the ASEAN Directors-General Meeting formally opened the event, noting his appreciation to the different Customs administrations of the ASEAN Member States (AMS) for their “individual efforts, hard work, and perseverance in upholding their roles and responsibilities to achieve the goals of the ASEAN Customs”. Commissioner Guerrero closed his remarks by reminding the AMS that there is still more substantial work to be done in pursuit of the “ASEAN: One Vision, One Identity, One Community.”

During the course of the three-day meeting, progress of ASEAN Customs Integration was reported by the Chairs of the three working groups. Consultations were also done with the ASEAN Customs dialogue partners and representatives from the private sector to strengthen Customs-to-Customs cooperation and recognize the importance of Customs-to-Business partnerships in the region.

The CCC Chair, Collector Wilnora L. Cawile formally concluded the meeting, expressing her gratitude to the AMS for their active participation and cooperation which resulted in the meeting’s success.