DAVAO CITY — The Bureau of Customs, through Port of NAIA, cleared 500,000 doses of Sinovac vaccines consigned to the Department of Health, which arrived via Flight No. PR 361 from Beijing, China, at around 5:00 PM on April 11, 2021.
On April 9, 2021, the said vaccines underwent pre-arrival clearance process through NAIA One-Stop-Shop and were cleared for release within 15 minutes.
The Bureau of Customs (BOC) has so far cleared and released over 3.02 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines imported by the Department of Health.
Upon arrival, the shipment was immediately transferred to the Metropac facility where the other vaccines are stored to ensure the integrity and safety of the vaccines prior to distribution across the nation
Bureau of Customs Commissioner Rey Leonardo B. Guerrero vows the BOC’s continuing commitment to support the Covid-19 vaccination program of the national government by assuring the immediate processing of legitimately imported vaccines while protecting the country border against all fraudulent attempts to import unregistered vaccines and related medical goods.
NAIA District Collector Carmelita M. Talusan stressed that amidst continuing threats of COVID-19 infection, active coordination and cooperation with concerned government agencies are continuously undertaken to further streamline and improve clearance processes of the Covid-19 vaccines and related medical goods as Bureau’s intangible contribution to the nation’s quest to combat the dreaded virus.