BOC prepares for Yuletide rush

THE Bureau of Customs (BOC) has taken steps to clear up the ports of overstaying containers to accommodate the Christmas import surge and prevent any downtime in business operations.

Customs Commissioner Ruzzano Rufino Biazon said on Friday that, “We will move to satellite depots thousands of containers with merchandise, manufacturing raw materials, and rice that are uncollected at the ports for various reasons, including legal and the long All Saints Day weekend. We need the space so we can release these imports on time to keep the private sector humming.”

He added that the BOC and its accredited banks will be open from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. during weekdays and from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Satur- days for November and December.

Biazon said that he wants a more efficient bureau especially with the local economy poised for sustained growth.

“We must keep in step with business. We must not be a reason for businesses to slow down or even stop operations because their raw materials had been held up for no justifiable reason at the ports,” he said.

Biazon added that an efficient port operation will ease up traffic in Metro Manila substantially, since container trucks can time their operations and not be on the road all the same time.

He said all these would mean better collections for the BOC to help the government deliver the services needed by the people.