On October 30, 2024, Bureau of Customs (BOC) Commissioner Bienvenido Y. Rubio, alongside Department of Agriculture (DA) Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel, Jr., inspected 21 forty-foot containers of frozen mackerel from China at the Manila International Container Port (MICP), which were confiscated for lack of the necessary import clearance.

In a joint operation conducted by the Bureau of Customs (BOC) and the 701st Infantry Brigade on October 22, 2024, five (5) lorries carrying approximately 238,000 liters of unmarked diesel were intercepted in Tarragona, Davao Oriental.

The Bureau of Customs (BOC) successfully conducted the 2nd Customs Industry Consultative and Advisory Council (CICAC) General Assembly, which also marked the 8th Central CICAC meeting, on October 25, 2024. The event brought together the country’s leading importers, companies, industries, organizations, and foreign chambers to discuss streamlining customs clearance processes, achieving revenue targets, and addressing industry-specific challenges.

The Bureau of Customs (BOC) participated in a meeting convened by OFW Party List Representative Congresswoman Marissa “Del Mar” Magsino to address the urgent issue of abandoned balikbayan boxes due to unscrupulous consolidators and deconsolidators. During the meeting, the BOC outlined its actions, including legal measures, regulatory reforms, and ongoing partnerships to ensure that Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) and their families receive their balikbayan boxes without delay.

The Bureau of Customs (BOC) – Port of Clark, in coordination with the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA), the Customs Anti-Illegal Drug Task Force (CAIDTF), the X-ray Inspection Project (XIP), the Enforcement and Security Service (ESS), and the Customs Intelligence and Investigation Service (CIIS), confiscated two (2) shipments containing a total of 4.2 kilograms of suspected high-grade marijuana originating from California, USA worth PhP280,400.

The Bureau of Customs (BOC), in partnership with the World Customs Organization (WCO)’s Accelerate Trade Facilitation Programme and its partner consultant, PricewaterhouseCoopers, successfully conducted the 2nd Customs Integrity Perception Survey (CIPS). This initiative, supported by the United Kingdom’s His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs, aims to evaluate the integrity perceptions of both internal and external stakeholders of the BOC.

The Bureau of Customs (BOC) successfully convened the Inter-Agency Intelligence Summit on October 18, 2024, in Batangas, uniting intelligence units from 67 government agencies to enhance cooperation in the fight against smuggling and other illegal activities. Under the theme “Championing Border Security and Protection through Streamlined Intelligence Operations and Strengthened Inter-Agency Collaboration,” the summit underscored the BOC’s commitment in fortifying the nation’s defenses against illicit trade.

The Bureau of Customs (BOC) – Port of Clark apprehended 1.48 grams of High-Grade “Kush” Marijuana concealed in four (4) garments valued at PhP1.572 million. The inspection was conducted in coordination with the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA), Philippine National Police – Aviation Security Group (PNP-AVSEG), National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) Pampanga District Office, the Department of Justice (DOJ), and Barangay Officials of Dau.

The Bureau of Customs (BOC) – Port of Clark, in its ongoing campaign against illegal drugs, apprehended 2.56 kilograms of high-grade marijuana, or “Kush,” worth PhP3.084 million in cooperation with the Customs Anti-Illegal Drug Task Force (CAIDTF), the Philippine National Police – Aviation Security Group (PNP-AVSEG), the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) Pampanga District Office, the Department of Justice (DOJ), and local officials from Brgy. Dau, City of Mabalacat.

Amid an intensified crackdown against the “paihi” modus, or the illegal transfer of fuel, the Bureau of Customs (BOC) seized on Wednesday, October 16, 2024, a fuel tanker and four lorries caught in the act of transferring smuggled fuel at the Port of Batangas.

A derogatory information received by the BOC-Customs Intelligence and Investigation Service (BOC-CIIS) led to a joint operation by the CIIS and Enforcement and Security Service (ESS) that caught a vessel transferring petroleum products into four lorry tankers.