THE PHILIPPINES will hold air service talks with Israel and Russia before the end of the year to secure seat entitlements from those countries, officials of the Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) said.
Sep 122013
Apr 292013
By Jerry E. Esplanada Philippine Daily Inquirer 3:52 am | Tuesday, April 30th, 2013 MANILA, Philippines—The Russian Federation and the Netherlands have joined the growing list of countries that have forged customs cooperation agreements with the Philippines. Commissioner Ruffy Biazon said this would boost the Bureau of Customs’ (BOC) campaign against all forms of smuggling, commercial fraud and transnational crimes. He said the agreements would initiate information exchanges for the benefit of all countries and provide assistance in the areas of trade statistics, customs law enforcement, human resource development, technical know-how and trade facilitation. In a text message to the Inquirer on Monday, Biazon said these were the second and third agreements entered into by the BOC since he assumed office in September 2011. “The first agreement, which involved Mexico, was signed last year,” he said. Biazon disclosed the BOC was holding exploratory talks and negotiations for similar arrangements with a number of nations. He did not identify the countries. “We’ve had similar agreements with the United States, South Korea, Australia, China, Taiwan and Israel. The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) also has multilateral agreements, which we are a part of,” he said. Borders divide, customs connect Citing the World Customs Organization motto, “Borders divide, customs connect,” Biazon said the country’s agreement with Moscow “is expected to enhance cooperation between the customs agencies of the Philippines and Russia.” “The cooperation agreement between the two countries is expected to prevent breaches of customs laws and protect their economic, fiscal, social Read More …
Apr 252013
MANILA, Philippines – The Bureau of Customs (BOC) has signed an agreement with its counterpart agency in the Netherlands to boost trade, border control and protection between the two countries. Customs Commissioner Ruffy Biazon said the agreement is intended to strengthen the application of customs laws and enhance information sharing between the two countries as part of their fight against smuggling. The accord opens up the communication line between the Customs agencies of the Philippines and the Netherlands in terms of addressing the problems on cross-frontier trafficking of illicit goods ranging from narcotic drugs, hazardous goods, endangered species and other contraband commodities that could pose danger to society. The most salient feature of the agreement is the establishment of a working co-operation between the two countries in putting-up the parameters for the accurate valuation and assessment of customs duties and taxes on all goods shipped between the Philippines and the Netherlands. The agreement has practically tightened the customs operational procedures between the Philippines and the Netherlands, eventually translating in more revenue collection for all trade between the two countries. Apart from border protection, Biazon said the mutual cooperation is part of the BOC’s overall plan to enhance the country’s trade facilitation with the global economy and regain public’s trust in the agency. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 Just recently, the Philippines and Russia signed an agreement on mutual administrative assistance in customs matters. The landmark agreement would establish the connectivity of the two customs administrations in Read More …