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THE
Japanese government will be donating equipment to the
Philippines which will be used to scan shipments
transported through the country’s major airports.
However,
Bureau of Customs (BOC) Commissioner Napoleon L. Morales
told reporters Monday that the agency has yet to
finalize the details of the donation since the bureau is
still busy implementing nonintrusive scanning equipment
at Philippine ports.
“We
don’t want to follow it up with JICA [Japan
International Cooperation Agency] because it’s just a
pledge and not an ODA [official development
assistance],” Morales said. Usually managed by officials
of both donor and beneficiary countries, ODA, which
offers loans at significantly lower-interest rates, also
requires counterpart funds from recipient governments.
Costing
about $5 million each, the said equipment, once used for
air cargo, will complete the bureau’s non-intrusive
container scanning project, which was supported by an
Executive Order (EO) released late last year.
“We will
immediately subject imports and exports shipped through
air once we procure the best scanning machine for
airfreight,” Morales said, adding that airfreight will
not be subjected to the collection of security fee,
ranging from $25 to $50.
Malacañang, through EO 592, ordered the installation of
the non-intrusive scanning equipment in all major ports
to ensure that all shipments, particularly those
US-bound, are free from materials used for weapons of
mass destruction.
Starting
Monday, the bureau has started charging security fees to
all metal containers passing through the country’s major
ports.
All
import and export cargoes landed, stored in piers,
airports, terminal facilities including container yards,
freight stations under the jurisdiction of the BOC will
be scanned, according to the order.
The
customs bureau has already installed 10 nonintrusive
scanners in major ocean gateways in the country
including the South Harbor, the Manila International
Container Port, Cebu, Subic, Batangas, Zamboanga, Davao,
Cagayan de Oro and Clark.
BoC is
also installing loose cargo scanners in major airports
in the country covering the Ninoy Aquino International
Airport, Clark, Subic, Cebu, Zamboanga and Davao. |
