The Bureau of Customs said Friday it successfully processed 189 shipments of medical and other emergency supplies that arrived in the country’s various ports as of March 19.
These shipments were facilitated in only ten days since President Duterte’s declaration of a state of public emergency on March 9 to check the spread of the coronavirus disease 2019. More supplies for frontline workers are expected to arrive in the Philippines over the next few weeks.
It also plans to establish a one-stop shop to accelerate the release of donated and other relief goods, in line with the president’s declaration placing the entire country under a state of calamity for six months following the sustained community transmission of COVID-19.
“As part of the bureau’s action plan, all of the ports were directed to ensure the continuous and unhampered delivery of goods and services, especially shipments that are needed to address this emergency such as face masks, personal protective equipment, and other medical supplies,” Customs Commissioner Rey Leonardo Guerrero said in his report to Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III.
The 189 shipments of medical and other essential supplies came through the Port of Clark, Manila International Container Port and the Ninoy Aquino International Airport, Guerrero said.