Bureau of Customs (BOC) Commissioner Ariel Nepomuceno has ordered the temporary suspension of the Clearance Procedure under ‘Green Lane’ in order to simplify and expedite Customs clearance for travelers at airport terminals. The suspension takes place starting August 14, 2025 and will cut the time a passenger spends on exiting the arrival area by seconds up to minutes depending on the volume of passengers.
Nepomuceno explained that presently, arriving passengers are required to register through the ETravel App and accomplish in it a Customs Declaration form prior to arrival. This then generates a QR Code which will indicate if the passenger belongs to the Green Lane or those who have ‘nothing to declare’ or the Red Lane where a passenger has ‘something to declare’ which refers to either goods or currency that are either taxable or may be brought on a limited basis only.
Beginning August 14, Nepomuceno said Green Lane passengers need no longer present QR codes. Those under the Red Lane or who have been chosen at random, reasonable or intelligence-based assessments will still pass through the usual QR Code scanning and standard customs clearance processes.
Nepomuceno said that under the new system, passengers will experience a much smoother travel, pursuant to a directive from President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. to give the passengers, especially our ‘balikbayans’, a hassle-free experience when arriving in the country.
The BOC chief personally went around the NAIA arrival area to check on the current processes and pinpoint areas which still have room for improvement.
He was accompanied by his deputy chief of staff and spokesman Atty. Chris Noel Bendijo, NAIA arrival operations division chief Belinda Copioso, deputy collector for passenger services Karen Susan Rofes, assistant deputy for passenger services Dr. Mark Jhon Almase, deputy commissioner-IAG Michael Fermin and assistant Commissioner-ACP Atty. Vincent Philip Maronilla, among others.
Also present in the said event were New NAIA Infrastructure Corp. (NNIC) general manager Lito Alvarez and NNIC officers Cesar Chiong and Tetet Gaerlan and public affairs officer Connie Bungag of the MIAA.
Nepomuceno stressed that he wants the NAIA to be ‘traveler-friendly and security-focused,’ assuring that with the system put in place, arrival areas will be decongested and the passengers’ travel experience will be a lot better.
