The World Customs Organization (WCO), through Mr. Jonathan Fellows, Senior Technical Officer, WCO Capacity Building Directorate, conducted the Assessment of the Bureau of Customs’ (BOC) Implementation Status of the World Trade Organization-Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA) on 28-29 March 2022, in Manila.

The said in-country Assessment, otherwise known as the WCO-BOC Maturity Model Assessment, was carried out under the framework of the WCO-BOC Mercator Programme. It is a tool that objectively measures the level of compliance of the Philippines on Customs-related TFA provisions. Moreover, it is a baseline for future progress in TFA implementation since the BOC Mercator Diagnostic Mission in August 2019.

During the 2-day meeting, the WCO and BOC officials were able to mutually consult and seek updates on Mercator developments since the Diagnostic Mission in August 2019, as well as highlight priority areas and identify the next steps in bringing the Programme to completion and the substantial implementation and compliance of the TFA by the Philippines.

On 02 April 2022, the WCO submitted the Mercator Stocktaking Report to BOC, based on the said Assessment. The Report provides the overall performance of the BOC with respect to the fulfillment of the TFA, as well as the recommendations of the WCO as specified in the WCO-BOC Multi-Year Mercator Implementation Plan.

According to the Report, the BOC’s current implementation maturity level is at 85%. The initial Mercator Maturity Model Assessment, which was conducted in August 2019, provided a baseline implementation maturity level of 49%. The 2nd Assessment signifies a 36% increase in the overall implementation maturity within two and a half years.