'Swiss challenge' for ₱742.49-M customs processing system eyed mid-2026 — BOC

`The P744.49-million unsolicited proposal for the new Customs Processing System (CPS), aimed at modernizing the Bureau of Customs’ (BOC) procedures, is now moving forward as the agency eyes to conduct the "Swiss Challenge" for the proposed project mid-2026.

At the sidelines of of the BOC’s 124th anniversary event in Pasay City on Thursday, Customs Commissioner Ariel Nepomuceno said that the proposed CPS by its joint venture proponents —ADR Holding Corp., Ascent Solutions Philippines Inc., JAMC Holdings Corp., Omniprime Marketing Inc., and Arcilla Margaroli Salazar (AMS) Holding Inc.— is now under the “negotiation stage.”

“On the side of the BOC, we will have to make sure that the technical capabilities or capacities that are being promised will really be there,” Nepomuceno said.

Based on information from the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) Center, the CPS project is “is an ICT-enabled customs processing system designed to streamline and automate customs procedures, ensuring efficient, transparent, and compliant trade facilitation.”

The project will be powered by artificial intelligence, which will include key modules for managing customs declarations, risk assessment, payment processing, and other critical operations, “providing a fully paperless trade environment that meets international standards.”

“All things considered, all the processes considered, give or take middle of the year, meaning July [or] June to July. It will be subject to ‘Swiss Challenge’,” the Customs chief said.

“Swiss Challenge, meaning another group will challenge the proponent…,” he said.

After the Swiss Challenge, should the original proponent or a challenger bag the contract, Nepomuceno said that come November or December, the project will undergo technical design which will be followed by pilot testing in the first quarter of next year.

“Because we have 17 major ports and 39 sub-ports… So 56 all-in-all ports should be integrated…Some time next year, we will see the changes [in the BOC] using the CPS,” Nepomuceno said. —RF, GMA Integrated News