Despite a P435-million grant from the European Union (EU) and another $10 million aid from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) for the Bureau of Customs’ information technology system, the BOC has been plagued by the “recurring problem of computer network slowdown and downtime,” adversely affecting the agency’s operations.
The Philippines remains on the Office of the United States Trade Representative’s (USTR) “watch list” of countries where pirated and counterfeit goods are readily available.
After Batanes, the country’s northernmost province, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) has dispatched its mobile e-passport processing, or consular outreach teams to Ifugao in the Cordillera Administrative Region, Ilocos Norte and Catanduanes in the Bicol region.
Stressing the need to prevent nuclear proliferation and smuggling of radioactive materials worldwide, the United States has set up a $26-million (about P1.1 billion) specialized nuclear radiation detection facility at the Port of Manila, the country’s premier trade gateway. US Ambassador to the Philippines Harry Thomas Jr. and Science and Technology Secretary Mario Montejo on [...]
