BUREAU of Customs (BOC) commissioner, Rey Leonardo Guerrero, personally welcomed Department of Education (DepEd) secretary, Leonor Briones, for the turnover of a container load of electronic gadgets to the education department last Friday, January 29, 2021.
In a brief statement, Guerrero said the donation was part of the bureau’s commitment to help DepEd in its effort to still provide quality education to students and public schools teachers thru its ‘distance learning program’ the government adopted due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The brief turnover ceremony was also witnessed via video by Department of Finance (DOF) secretary, Carlos Dominguez.
Also in attendance were the bureau’s deputy commissioners and representatives from the Port of Clark headed District Collector Ruby Claudia M. Almeda.
A total of 5,038 devices were donated to DepEd composed of ‘Oppo A9’ and ‘A31’ mobile phones as well as ‘Huawei Mate’ mobile devices.
The gadgets were part of the apprehended items of the Port of Clark which were being transported out of Clark Freeport Zone.
In her remarks, Secretary Briones thanked the bureau and the DOF for their continuing support to DepEd in furthering quality education.
Secretary Dominguez, for his part, commended the men and women of the BOC for their unrelenting efforts to perform their functions as well Guerrero’s initiative to collaborate with other agencies as the country continues to battle the pandemic.
Last year, when it became apparent that DepEd would be hard-pressed in implementing its distance learning education program, Guerrero, with Dominguez’s approval, ordered all customs collection districts to immediately conduct an inventory of all their seized electronic gadgets.
Under customs laws, the BOC has the option to destroy, auction or donate seized smuggled items that can still be of benefit to the government and the general public.