Philippine Customs Service

History

Historical records show that the Philippine Customs Service started many centuries back long before the Philippines was discovered by the eastern and western expeditionaries. The Philippines had already a flourishing trade with countries of Southeast Asia, but since money at that time was not yet the medium of exchange, people then resorted to the barter system of commodities. The rulers of the barangays were known as the “datus” or “rajahs” collected tributes from the people before they were allowed to engage in their trade.

The practice of collecting tributes became part of their culture and was then observed and followed as the Customs Law of the Land.
The Spanish Regime
After Spain had taken full control of almost all the trades of the country, it passed three important statutes:
1. Spanish Customs Law which was similar to that of the Indies enforced in the country from 1582 to 1828. It was a concept of ad valorem levied on import and export.
2. A Tariff Board was established which drew up a tariff of fixed values for all imported articles on which ten percent (10%) ad valorem duty was uniformly collected.
3. Another Tariff Law was introduced in 1891, which established the specific duties on all imports and on certain exports and this lasted till the end of the Spanish rule in the Philippines.

The American Regime
When the Americans came to the Philippines, the Military Government continued to enforce the Spanish Tariff Code of 1891, which remained in effect until the Philippine Commission enacted the Tariff Revision Law of 1901.
On October 24, 1900, the Philippine Commission passed Act No. 33 abolishing and changing the position of Captain of the Port to Collector of Customs in all ports of entry except the Port of Manila. The designation of the Captain of the Port in the Port of Manila was retained.
When the Civil Government was established in the Philippines, the most important laws passed by the Philippine Commission were the following:
1. Tariff Revision Law of 1902 based on the theory that the laws of Spain were not as comprehensive as the American Customs Laws to conform with the existing conditions of the country.
2. Philippine Administrative Act No. 355 passed by the Philippine Commission on February 6, 1902. The full implementation of this Act, however, was considered inadequate and incomplete, so the Customs Service Act No. 355, called the Philippine Customs Service Act was passed to amend the previous laws. After several modifications and amendments, the Philippine Customs Service finally became a practical counterpart of the American Customs Service.
3. Act No. 357 reorganized the Philippine Customs Service and officially designated the Insular Collector of Customs as Collector of Customs for the Port of Manila.
4. Act No. 625 abolished the Captain of the Port for the Port of Manila.
5. Public Act No. 430 transformed the Philippine Customs Service to a Bureau of Customs and Immigration under the supervision and control of the Department of Finance and Justice.
When the Department of Justice became a separate office from the Department of Finance, te Customs Service remained under the umbrella of the latter which set-up remained up to this time.

The Commonwealth Government
After the Commonwealth Government was established in the country, the Philippine Legislature enacted Commonwealth Act No. 613 forming the Bureau of Immigration as a separate office from the Bureau of Customs.
On May 1, 1947, the Bureau of Customs has as its head the Insular Collector of Customs. He was assisted by the Deputy Insular Collector of Customs. Both officials were concurrently Collector of Customs and the Deputy Collector of Customs of the Port of Manila. The Republic Pursuant to the Executive Order No. 94 of Republic Act No. 52, the President of the Philippines reorganized the different departments, bureaus, offices and agencies of the government of the Republic of the Philippines. Consequently, the Insular Collector of Customs was changed to Collector of Customs for the Port of Manila. The reorganization took effect on July 1, 1947.
In 1957, Congress enacted the Tariff and Customs Code of the Philippines known as Republic Act No. 1937, otherwise known as the “Tariff Law of the Republic of the Philippines”. This took effect on July 1, 1957. The passage of this act by the defunct Congress of the Philippines subject to the provisions of the Laurel-Langley Agreement, became the first official expression of an autonomous Philippine Tariff Policy.
Before the passage of Republic Act 1937, all importations from the United States enjoyed full exemptions pursuant to the Tariff Act No. 1902 which was adopted by Republic Act No. 3 as the Tariff Laws of the Philippines.

The Republic
Pursuant to the Executive Order No. 94 of Republic Act No. 52, the President of the Philippines reorganized the different departments, bureaus, offices and agencies of the government of the Republic of the Philippines. Consequently, the Insular Collector of Customs was changed to Collector of Customs for the Port of Manila. The reorganization took effect on July 1, 1947. I n 1957, Congress enacted the Tariff and Customs Code of the Philippines known as Republic Act No. 1937, otherwise known as the “Tariff Law of the Republic of the Philippines”. This took effect on July 1, 1957. The passage of this act by the defunct Congress of the Philippines subject to the provisions of the Laurel-Langley Agreement, became the first official expression of an autonomous Philippine Tariff Policy.
Before the passage of Republic Act 1937, all importations from the United States enjoyed full exemptions pursuant to the Tariff Act No. 1902 which was adopted by Republic Act No. 3 as the Tariff Laws of the Philippines.

The Reorganization of the Bureau of Customs
On February 4, 1965, the Bureau of Customs was reorganized pursuant to Customs Administrative Order No. 4-65 by authority if Sec. 550 & 551 of the Revised Administrative Code of Republic Act 4164. During the reorganization, offices under the direct supervision and control of the Commissioner were elevated to Department Level with ranks higher than Division Level. These Departments were the following: Public Relations, Personnel, Legal, Administrative Service, Budget and Finance, and the Management Improvement. Likewise, three (3) ranking Customs positions were created, namely: Assistant Commissioner for Revenue, Assistant Commissioner for Security, and Director for Operations.
Later, Customs Administrative Order No. 4065 was amended abolishing the position of Assistant Commissioner for Security and creating the position of Director for Administration.
In 1972, Congress passed the law revising the Tariff & Customs Code of the Philippines. However, before it can be implemented, the President of the Republic of the Philippines issued Proclamation No. 1081 on September 21, 1972 declaring Martial Law in the country.
On October 27, 1972, President Ferdinand E. Marcos signed Presidential Decree No. 34 amending the Tariff & Customs Code of the Philippines. The new Code took effect on November 26, 1972 except for Section 104 thereof which became effective only on January 1, 1973.
Another reorganization of the Bureau of Customs took effect on September 24, 1972, pursuant to Presidential Decree No. 1 creating six (6) Customs Services under the Office of the Commissioner and creating jurisdictional limits of twelve (12) collection districts with the Principal Ports and Sub-ports of entry under the supervision and control of the Collector of the Principal Port of Entry.
As a result of this reorganization, the designation of heads of different services was called Customs Service Chiefs, and heads of offices with rank of division were designated Customs Operations Chiefs and the Head of the National Customs Police as Director. It was in this reorganizational set-up that the Directors for Administration and Operations, and the Assistant Commissioner for Revenue were abolished.
In 1975, the Bureau undertook another reorganization under Presidential Decree No. 689 and the result is what you see now in the Organization Chart, except for some slight changes and modifications.
On June 11, 1978, the Tariff & Customs Code was further amended, modified and supplemented by new positions to make it a responsive code in keeping with the developmental programs of the New Society. The new Code was embodied in Presidential Decree No. 1464.
With the accession of the Philippines to the Customs Co-Operation Council (CCC), the Tariff & Customs Code has to be revised anew in order to align our tariff system with the CCC Nomenclature, and the result is the presently enforced Tariff & Customs Code of 1982, revised by virtue of Executive Order No. 688. This new Code also assimilated various amendments to the Customs Code under P.D. 1628 & 1980 as well as reprints of the tariff concessions under the General Agreement on Tariff Multilateral Agreement Negotiations as provided in Executive Order No. 578, series of 1980, and the tariff concessions granted to ASEAN member countries as embodied in various Executive Orders from 1978 to 1981.
The last major reorganization of the Bureau took place in 1986 after the EDSA Revolution with the issuance of Executive Order No. 127 which expanded the organization umbrella of the Central Office by providing offices that will monitor and coordinate assessment and operations of the Bureau and provided for a staff of about 5,500 customs personnel.
The implementation of the computerization program also necessitated the creation of a new Group to ensure its continuous development and progress. The creation of the Management Information System and Technology Group (MISTG) under a new Deputy Commissioner with 92 positions was authorized under Executive Order No. 463 dated January 9, 1998.