en.Wedoany.com Reported - The Philippine Bureau of Customs (BOC) is converting space within the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) complex into a satellite cargo processing facility to address the airport's air cargo backlog, which has disrupted semiconductor shipments and forced at least one global technology company to suspend production on one of its product lines.

At the second Philippine United Portusers Confederation of the Philippines stakeholders' summit held on June 25, BOC Assistant Commissioner Atty. Vincent Philip Maronilla announced that NAIA operator New NAIA Infra Corp. (NNIC) has agreed to allow the BOC and People's Air Cargo & Warehousing Co., Inc. (Paircargo) to convert part of the duty-free zone into a satellite processing facility. The area, which had been used as a temporary holding yard for several days, will be transformed into a satellite office capable of physically clearing and processing goods on-site, rather than merely storing overflow cargo. Maronilla noted that the site was previously a designated inspection area and only requires the deployment of Paircargo personnel. The BOC is also considering temporarily declaring the old Miascor facility, which has been closed since 2018, as a customs processing area to provide additional relief.

At the same event, Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry President Ferdinand Ferrer stated that NAIA's air cargo clearance rate has deteriorated from 95% within three days last year to the current 76%, weakening manufacturers' ability to meet tight turnaround commitments. The congestion has hit the semiconductor industry particularly hard, disrupting the transport of wafers, storage devices, and other components that are shipped exclusively by air. According to a PortCalls source who requested anonymity but whose company handles air cargo for the technology firm, at least one global technology company has suspended production on one of its product lines; industry leaders warn that others may follow if the situation is not resolved quickly. The bottleneck can be traced to the closure of the Philippine Skylanders International Corporation facility—after NNIC reclaimed the site for redevelopment—leaving Paircargo and Cargohaus as the only customs-bonded warehouses at NAIA serving multiple airlines. Paircargo, which handles approximately 70% of the airport's air cargo due to its direct ramp access, has borne the brunt of the surge in volume.

The BOC stated that its goal is to clear the backlog at Paircargo by July. Maronilla warned that if this situation occurs during the "ber months," when cargo volumes typically surge, it would be a much bigger problem, and the BOC aims to release all goods by July, by which time the system will have been refined. The BOC will continue to coordinate with NNIC on long-term plans for cargo operations to determine which warehouses will be accredited in the future. Maronilla believes NAIA will remain the primary hub for high-volume air cargo, while Clark International Airport will serve a different market.

Previously, BOC-NAIA had introduced some relief measures, including extending working hours from Monday to Friday, 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM, to daily (including weekends) from 7:00 AM to 9:00 PM, and encouraging stakeholders to schedule cargo releases between 7:00 AM and 1:00 PM to avoid congestion. Additionally, BOC-NAIA has established a Viber group for stakeholders to follow up on unlocated cargo and maintains close ground coordination with Paircargo.

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