Secretary Frederick Go and members of this committee: good afternoon.

I welcome everyone to our very first Pre-border Technical Verification and Cross-Border Electronic Invoicing System Committee Meeting.

National security is economic security. It is a crucial issue that often extends beyond actual territorial boundaries. It involves protecting the Filipino people from what goes into our borders.

For instance, apart from denying the government the revenues it deserves, smuggling presents a many-faceted danger to our society.

It leaves us open to the flow of illegal drugs. It harms our domestic producers. It makes us defenseless against the criminals.

And the responsibility of ensuring that no unregulated commodity slips past our borders lies significantly with the Bureau of Customs.

Grounded by Administrative Order No. 23, we take the first steps today towards achieving a fully digitalized border protection system in the country where no import goes unnoticed and unaccounted for.

With this in place, we are one step closer to putting an end to smuggling, misdeclaration, and undervaluation.

The success of this electronic invoicing system hinges on the expertise and commitment of each one of you. Thus, I expect and urge full cooperation from everyone as we begin to operationalize this crucial initiative.

Remember, according to AO 23, we have two years to complete and fully implement the systems. So, let us all buckle down to work and get this started. Delay is not an option.

Once again, thank you very much for your commitment and participation. I am looking forward to a productive meeting today.