BOC Participates in the 34th Meeting of the WCO-A/P RCP in Hong Kong, China
The Philippine Bureau of Customs (BOC) attended the 34th Meeting of the World Customs Organization Asia/Pacific (WCO A/P) Regional Contact Points (RCP) in Hong Kong, China from October 21 to October 25, 2024.
Since assuming the Vice-Chairpersonship of the WCO A/P in July of this year, Hong Kong Customs hosted its first significant regional gathering. Hong Kong Customs Commissioner and current Asia/Pacific Vice-Chairperson (APVC) Ms. Louise HO Pui-Shan enthusiastically opened the meeting with a view of making it an opportunity for all delegations to discuss and suggest global policies and initiatives for the world customs community.
The meeting assembled more than 70 representatives from A/P customs administrations including Philippine Customs delegation headed by Ms. Kristin May L. Vista, Assistant Head of External Affairs Office (EAO) and Ms. Kyle Danielle V. Ablat, EAO.
The meeting was attended by WCO’s regional entities such as the Regional Intelligence Liaison Office (RILO) A/P, Regional Office for Capacity Building (ROCB) A/P, and Regional Private Sector Group (RPSG) A/P that witnessed a series of presentations and discussions focusing on A/P customs regional concerns. In order to promote cooperation and information exchange among A/P members, participants tackled various customs initiatives, enforcement tactics, and training experiences from a variety of viewpoints.
The WCO Secretariat was also present at the said meeting as represented by Mr. Tetsuo Mizunuma, Regional Development Manager in the Asia Pacific Region, who reported on the WCO policies and initiatives and the Strategic Plan 2022-2025. The WCO has praised the Philippine Customs for having the most number of registered users in the region of the WCO CliKC! e-Learning platform and continued to encourage other Members in using this platform for free Customs e-Learning courses.
The Philippines also participated in the Welcome Reception and Official Dinner, Customs Facilities Tour at the Customs Canine Force (CCF) in Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge (HZMB) Dog Base and Cargo/Passenger Clearance Facilities at the HZMB Control Point, and Excursion at the Hong Kong Palace Museum as prepared by the Hong Kong Customs.
Commissioner Bienvenido Y. Rubio emphasized the significance of the event in fostering meaningful advancements within the global customs framework and bolstering regional alliances, stating, “The Bureau of Customs’ participation in the 34th WCO A/P Regional Contact Points Meeting has been instrumental in shaping the direction of customs operations across our region.”
