GENERAL SANTOS CITY (MindaNews/8 Oct) -- Customs, immigration, quarantine and security (CIQS) procedures in Glan, Sarangani will be fasttracked with the establishment of a one-stop action center (OSAC), inaugurated by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo this afternoon.

The OSAC in Glan was set up to fasttrack and simplify CIQS regulatory processes for traders in the Jose Abad Santos-Glan Sarangani Cooperation Triangle (JAGS-CT) exchanging goods with their counterparts from the northern province of Sulawesi in Indonesia. 

The ports of Glan and Manado are two of the 33 major ports of entry in the entire Brunei Darussalam-Indonesia-Malaysia-Philippines East Asean Growth Area (BIMP-EAGA).

The OSAC is also intended to improve port security, particularly in preventing the entry of smuggled goods and animal-borne diseases, as well as drug trafficking.

At the center are the various government licensing agencies -- the Bureau of Customs, Bureau of Immigration, Department of Health, Bureau of Plant Industry, Bureau of Animal Industry, Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources and the Philippine Coast Guard.

"The OSAC is a mechanism which is hoped to create an environment conducive for trade and investment here in Mindanao and Palawan", Undersecretary Virgilio L. Leyretana, chairperson of the Mindanao Economic Development Council (MEDCo), said in a statement.

He said that the establishment of the OSAC would increase direct shipping services between this part of Mindanao and Indonesia's North Sulawesi province.

Glan Mayor Enrique B. Yap Jr. also said that the OSAC will help formalize the centuries-old trading partnership between JAGS-CT and North Sulawesi.

JAGS-CT, which was created in 2004, is a local growth area under the auspices of BIMP-EAGA. It aims to increase trade, tourism and investment activities through joint local resource mobilization and local private-public sector partnerships. 

The establishment of OSACs in major ports of entry in Mindanao and Palawan is part of the Strengthening the BIMP-EAGA Support Team on Customs-Immigration-Quarantine-Security Project, which is funded by the Australian government through the Australian Agency for International Development and implemented by MEDCo.

The project, which started in 2006, envisions a freer movement of people and goods across Southern Philippines and EAGA borders. 

But Alfredo P. Hebrona, president of the Sarangani Chamber of Commerce and Industry Foundation, Inc., criticized the setting up of the OSAC in Glan town, noting that the best location would have been General Santos City so it could serve the most number of businessmen.

General Santos serves as the gateway to the provinces of South Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat and Sarangani.

Hebrona expressed doubts the OSAC will bring great impact to local businessmen, recalling an ugly experience by local businessmen a few years ago when the local government of Glan arranged an exchange of goods with Indonesia. The businessmen ended up losing P1 million in each of the two shipments.

“They arrived in Indonesia with their goods and expected everything was already negotiated, only to find out they still have to sell it there. Among the products that they brought were fresh mangoes, which they brought back home already best to become a fruit shake,” he recounted. (MindaNews)

---

Share this story through the following Social Media sites: