THE Philippines, thru the Bureau of Customs (BOC), reaffirmed its commitment to faster regional trade facilitation and integration during the 35th ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) Directors-General of Customs Meeting held early last month in Cambodia.
The BOC delegation was headed by Atty. Agaton Uvero, Deputy Commissioner, Assessment and Operations Coordinating Group (AOCG), who is also a respected book author on international trade, tariffs and other customs matters.
During the three-day meeting in Cambodia’s capital of Phnom Phen from June 2 to June 4, discussions focused on accelerating customs modernization and strengthening cross-border collaboration.
Uvero also co-chaired the 28th ASEAN-Japan Customs consultation alongside Japan’s Customs and Tariff Bureau Director-General Mitsuhiro Teraoka.
Additionally, Uvero also led the delegation during the bilateral meeting with the US-ASEAN Business Council to discuss core digitalization efforts, including the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and blockchain for fraud detection, while addressing private sector operational feedback from stakeholders like UPS and Astrophysics.