Bureau of Customs activates command center for intel, other operations


A command center for intelligence and enforcement operations covering all ports under the Bureau of Customs was officially activated Wednesday.

(photo from BOC)

In a ceremony, the bureau formally launched its Customs Operations Center to command and control the intelligence and enforcement operations of its 17 collection districts around the country.

The facility is designed to house the different intelligence, enforcement, risk management, and scanning systems of the Customs bureau.

It will also oversee the intelligence database, electronic tracking of containerized cargo (E-TRACC) and the vessel monitoring system.

The command center will also have the capabilities to utilize the universal risk management system (URMS) and provide remote access to the scanning or X-ray systems of the bureau under the X-ray Inspection Project.

It will likewise serve as a fusion center to integrate and analyze intelligence, enforcement and operational information gathered from various sources. The IT-integrated facility will be manned 24/7 by personnel of the enforcement security and services (ESS) and the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG).

Customs Commissioner Rey Leonardo Guerrero underscored that “the facility is an important tool for the Bureau of Customs, being a border protection unit of the country continuously working to deliver its mandate of securing the borders along with facilitation of trade and collection of lawful revenues.”

“The Customs Operations Center is a significant part of the Bureau’s thrust on reform and transformation,” Guerrero added.

The launch of the command center was also graced by Finance Assistant Secretary Dakila Elteen Napao, deputy commissioners and service directors of Customs Intelligence and Investigation Service (CIIS) and ESS.