THE Philippine Bureau of Customs (BOC) under the leadership of Commissioner Ariel F. Nepomuceno is doing its share in strengthening the country’s business and commercial ties with Korea by participating in an important business support seminar organized by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Korea Trade Investment Promotion Agency.
In his presentation, Commissioner Nepomuceno highlighted the BOC’s ongoing reforms aimed at improving the ease of doing business in the Philippines, including streamlined customs’ procedures, digitalization initiatives, and strengthened stakeholder engagement.
The event was attended by representatives from 33 major Korean companies and became a venue to further strengthen collaboration and dialogue between the Philippine government and the international private sector.
The seminar also served as a platform to discuss key areas relevant to foreign enterprises such as customs and clearance processes, procurement policies, corporate finance and foreign exchange, as well as labor and taxation regulations—providing participants with a comprehensive understanding of the Philippine business and regulatory environment.
HE Lee Sang-Hwa, Ambassador of the Embassy of the Republic of (South) Korea, underscored the importance of deepening trade and investment relations between the two countries.
He noted that Korea remains one of the Philippines’ largest sources of investments and reaffirmed the strong interest of Korean companies in expanding their presence in the country, reflecting continued confidence in the Philippine market.
Commissioner Nepomuceno also emphasized the BOC’s commitment to serving as a reliable partner to Korean enterprises,
“It’s (part of) my job to make sure that we will have a good understanding on how we can help each other, how BOC will be your partner, not your problem,” assuring them of the agency’s support in facilitating legitimate trade and addressing any concerns that may arise in the course of their operations
He further explained how the agency will strengthen modernization, ease of doing business, and stakeholder engagement, stating:
“By pursuing the three programs that I have mentioned, we are confident that we will be able to help businesses. The stronger the businesses are, the more jobs will be created for Filipinos, more duties and taxes that we will be able to collect, and that we will be able to use for our government operations and programs for our communities.”