Customs starts new inventory of cell phones, computers for donation to Deped, learners
THE Bureau of Customs (BOC) is undertaking an inventory of seized mobile phones and computers in a bid to supplement its earlier donation to the Department of Education (Deped) to support its blended or distance learning program amid the pandemic.
Customs Commissioner Rey Leonardo Guerrero told Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III that the BOC still has seized smuggled mobile phones stored at the Manila International Container Port and the Port of Manila. Guerrero made the response after he was queried by Department of Finance chief whether BOC still has computers and gadgets it can donate to Deped.
“We are just conducting an inventory, and seeking clearance from the National Telecommunications Commission [NTC] if these can be donated,” Guerrero said during a
We are just conducting an inventory, and seeking clearance from the National Telecommunications Commission if these can be donated. Customs Commissioner Rey Leonardo Guerrero
recent DOF Executive Committee (Execom) meeting.
Since mobile devices are classified as regular items, Guerrero said the BOC needed to first secure the clearance of NTC for the donation of the cellular phones.
In January, the BOC formally turned over to Education Secretary Leonor Magtolis Briones 198 units of laptops and 4,840 smartphones that it had seized during a joint operation conducted with personnel of the Clark Development Corp.
Dominguez lauded the BOC for not letting its guard down even amid this challenging period brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic.
The finance chief also assured Briones that the DOF and its attached agencies will support Deped’s efforts to ensure that Filipino learners continue their schooling with its blended learning program despite the challenges brought by the Covid-19 pandemic.