On February 8, 2024, Bureau of Customs (BOC) Commissioner Bienvenido Y. Rubio was invited to be one of the panelists for Session 5 on “Expectation to RILOs as WCO regional bodies” of the World Customs Organization Asia/Pacific (WCO-A/P) Regional High-Level Roundtable on the Enhancement of Data/Intelligence Analysis and Regional Cooperation Network.

Commissioner Rubio first conveyed appreciation for the invitation to witness the historic turnover of the Regional Intelligence Liaison Office A/P from Korea to the host country, Japan. For 12 years, Korea Customs served as the host administration of RILO A/P and was able to provide timely and useful intelligence information among its members.

In his statement, he underscored the outcomes of the bureau’s unyielding pursuit to curb smuggling in all forms, marking the highest record on apprehension in the history of the Philippines Bureau of Customs for the seizure of PhP43.295 billion worth of smuggled goods in the previous year in cooperation with the RILO A/P.

On behalf of the Philippine Customs Administration, Commissioner Rubio expressed trust in the new host, saying, “With Japan as the new host, the Philippines is confident that this cooperation will carry on and build upon the achievements made in the past.”

Thereafter, he outlined the bureau’s expectations for RILO A/P’s future initiatives, including providing members with operational and reach-back intelligence support, implementing target-oriented analysis projects, fostering collaborative information exchange, and providing capacity-building, modern tools and platforms for information exchange.

Commissioner Rubio concludes his statement by asserting, “We are certain that under the guidance of Japan Customs, we will be able to reinforce effective information gathering and exchange, bolster enforcement, and ultimately strengthen ties among one another.”