The Philippine Government has simplified procedures to facilitate the efficient entry into the country of donated relief goods for the victims of Typhoons Ondoy and Pepeng.

Under the Philippines’ Tariff and Customs Code (TCCP), imported articles donated to or for the account of a duly registered relief organization in the Philippines, not operated for profit, for distribution among the needy, will be exempted from duties and taxes. These imported goods should have clearance certifications from relevant agencies such as the Department of Social Welfare and Development for food and clothing or the Department of Health for medicines, as the case may be.

With the country under a State of Calamity, the process of requiring paper coordination among agencies and other procedures to be done are now “totally inappropriate”. President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo therefore issued Executive Oorder 831, dated 01 October 2009, which now gives the Department of Finance (which has jurisdiction over the Bureau of Customs) complete authority to authorize tax and tariff exemptions for donated relief goods.

To effect this, the relief goods shall be sent through or to the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) or to its over a thousand accredited / licensed / registered NGOs. (For the lists of such agencies / institutions/ foundations all over the Philippines, go to www.dswd.gov.ph.)

ONE-STOP-SHOP established to expedite release of relief goods from abroad.

Executive Order 831 also created a ONE- STOP- SHOP, now located at the 3^rd Floor of the Bureau of Customs building near the NAIA II Terminal (with telephone number +632-879-5180) where representatives of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), Department of Education (DepEd), Department of Health (DOH),  Department of Agriculture (DA) and the Department of National Defense (DND) hold office from 6 AM to 8PM. Thru the One-Stop Shop, the DSWD can easily coordinate with the above-mentioned agencies and have all documentary requirements processed. DSWD shall also cover the storage fee of the donated goods which have been consigned to them by donors.

The facilitating work of the DSWD and the One-Stop-Shop is the quick response mechanism to the emergency situation and assures quick and tax-free release of goods, given that laws, rules and procedures on the entry of imported goods, including donations, into the country, still exist.

Should the donor decide to send relief goods to any of the DSWD-accredited / licensed / registered NGO, the representative of this NGO has to go to the One-Stop-Shop to submit

required documents such as Letter of Intent, donation description citing the donor, donee,, recipients and distribution plan, airway bill or bill of lading as the case may be.

The DSWD, as consignee,  can further send relief goods to recipients identified by donors.

According to DSWD Assistant Secretary Vilma Cabrera and Mrs. Elma Pille of the DSWD Disaster Resource Operations Monitoring and Information Center (DROMIC), the donors may identify a further destination / recipient (i.e. persons, local government units, NGO, Church, etc..) by sending a written communication to DSWD Secretary Esperanza Cabral. DSWD, as the consignee, will receive, release, (even repack, if needed) and deliver the said relief goods to the identified recipient / destination. The identified recipient can also pick up the relief goods from the identified DSWD Resource Center. Donors should thus provide the contact number and address of the intended recipient.

For donated medicines, DSWD may receive and release the same to the Department of Health or to identified recipients such as the Philippine General Hospital.

The following are the relevant DSWD offices on matters pertaining to donations:

· Office of the Secretary, c/o Mrs. Elma Pille, Fax: (+632) 931-8191

· DSWD National Resource Operation Center

Chapel Road, Pasay City

Attention: Mrs. Francia Fabian

Tel.: (+632) 852-8081

Cell: (+63) 918-930-2356

· Disaster Resource Operations, Monitoring and Info Center (DRMIC)

DSWD Central Office

IBP Road, Batasan Complex, Quezon City

Attention: Assistant Secretary Vilma Cabrera

Cell: (+63) 918-934-5625

Mr. Rey Martiga or Ms. Imee Rose Castillo

Tel.: (+632) 951-7119, 951-2435

Fax: (+632) 931-8191

Consignees other than DSWD and DSWD-accredited / licensed / registered NGOs:

If donors do not want to avail of the quick-response-DSWD and One-Stop-Shop facility for quick release, and opt to directly send to their DSWD-unregistered NGO, then their representatives in the Philippines and the donors themselves should work on the documentation requirements following the usual procedures for the entry of donated imported goods in the country. VAT and storage fees will be under the responsibility of the consignee.  (Donated import goods will be duty-free, given clearances from government agencies. However, VAT will still be charged the consignee depending on value of goods.)