BUREAU of Customs Commissioner Rey Leonardo Guerrero headed a high-profile Philippine delegation to the two-day 31st Meeting of the ASEAN Directors-General that opened in Singapore last June 7, 2022, where he also turned over the chairmanship to the host country.
“The Philippine Customs is honored to officially turn over the emblem of authority and responsibility of the ASEAN Customs Chairmanship to the able hand of Mr. Ho Chee Pong, Director-General of Singapore Customs and Chairperson of the 31st Meeting of the ASEAN Directors-General of Customs.
“Rest assured, the Philippines stands hand-in-hand with the ASEAN Member States as we faithfully continue to pursue the vision, mission, and aspirations of the ASEAN Customs,” Guerrero said in his speech.
Pong, for his part, expressed gratitude to Guerrero for his one-year stint as chair of the organization, from June 2021 to June 2022.
“I would like to convey my appreciation to the outgoing Chair, Commissioner Rey Leonardo B. Guerrero of the Philippines Bureau of Customs on your successful and excellent chairmanship of the ASEAN Directors – General of Customs Meeting in the past one year.
“Under your able chairmanship, the ASEAN Customs community has made significant progress on various initiatives to enhance cooperation and integration among ASEAN Member States,” Pong noted.
The meeting also discussed the achievements and work progress for CY 2021 – 2022 made by various customs technical/working groups namely: Coordinating Committee on Customs (CCC), Customs Procedures and Trade Facilitation Working Group (CPTFWG), Customs Enforcement and Compliance Working Group (CECWG), and Customs Capacity Building Working Group (CCBWG), and their sub-working groups.
Among the achievements of ASEAN Customs during the Philippine Chairmanship include the finalization of the ASEAN Harmonized Tariff Nomenclature (AHTN) 2022; implementation of the ASEAN Customs Transit System (ACTS);
Adoption of the Joint Action Plan on the Mutual Recognition Arrangement (MRA) of the ASEAN Authorized Economic Operator (AEO) Programme; the live operation of the exchange of ASEAN Customs Declaration Document in ready AMS, and engagements with Dialogue Partners to establish trade connectivity.
The DG Meetings also served as an avenue for the conduct of consultation sessions with Dialogue Partner or partner customs administrations outside of ASEAN region to improve cooperation at the international level, which include Australia, China, Japan, and Korea, as well as the World Customs Organization (WCO) and representatives from the various Business Councils.