Philippine Customs Commissioner Ruffy Biazon underscored the role of the various customs agencies in Southeast Asia in establishing a One-ASEAN, One Customs environment among its 10 member economies.

The 18th Meeting of the ASEAN Coordinating Committee on Customs (CCC) opened on Tuesday at Clark Freeport Zone in northern Philippine province of Pampanga.

The event was attended by the customs officials of Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam and the Philippines. There were also delegations from Japan, China and South Korea in the meeting.

Biazon cited the evolving global economic trends where customs procedures among ASEAN member economies are being streamlined, trade barriers are being dismantled to give way to faster trade facilitation, even as enforcement of customs laws and rules and capacity building programs are being enhanced.

"Globalization is a reality we have to face and trade facilitation is at the forefront of this ASEAN economic endeavor," he said, adding that the meeting of customs chiefs should, therefore, help pave the way for the establishment of an integrated customs agencies among the ASEAN countries.