Philippine customs rolls out electronic cargo tracking system

Hanoi (VNA) – The Philippines’ Bureau of Customs (BOC) is rolling out the electronic tracking of containerised cargo (E-TRACC) system in various ports nationwide next month as part of efforts to automate operations and processes towards enhanced trade facilitation and strengthened border protection.

The BOC issued an order establishing the E-TRACC system, which enables the agency to conduct real-time monitoring of inland movements of containerised goods.

Cargo including transit containers bound for economic zones, free zones, customs bonded warehouse as well as containers bound for export and reefer containers bound for second border inspection are covered by the E-TRACC system.

All container vans would be affixed with an electronic customs seal (ECS) before clearance to depart from the port of discharge to the port of destination is given.

The seal is a GPS-enabled sealing device or lock that is capable of physically securing cargo and providing real-time location information.

It will track the goods in real-time and provide alarms in case of unauthorised trips, tampering of the device, deviation of the vehicle from authorized routes, or other events that are deemed unusual based on criteria to be determined by the BOC.

The system will initially be rolled out at the Manila International Container Port as well as the ports of Manila and Batangas next month, followed by the ports in Cebu, Davao, Subic and Clark in July.

The BOC hopes to fully implement the E-TRACC system across all ports nationwide by August./.