The Bureau of Customs would like to inform the public of the following:

· On 12-hour work operations in big ports:

To catch up with the increase in trade volume in big ports, the Bureau has implemented the 12-working hour operations (7am to 7pm, including Saturdays) in the Ports of Manila, Batangas, Davao, Cebu, Cagayan de Oro, and the Manila International Container Port starting Monday, 16 January.

Meanwhile, a 24/7 operation (including Saturdays and Sundays) has been fully implemented in the ports of Subic, Clark, and Limay.

This extension of working hours has been implemented in order for the said ports to serve their stakeholders efficiently. This is also expected to ease the traffic in the areas mentioned.

· On 24/7 banking transactions:

To streamline collection efforts, the Bureau has coordinated with accredited banks in order to accept and facilitate payments even beyond the usual banking hours.

Importers may avail of the services of the following banks for the 24/7 transactions of payments to the Bureau: (1) RCBC, (2) Security Bank, (3) Asia United Bank, and (4) Deutsche Bank.

Meanwhile, BPI will be extending up to 7pm their processing of payments to the Bureau.

This move aims to assist stakeholders who, by any circumstance, cannot process their payments during regular work hours.