MANILA — A total of 14 or 82 percent of the 17 ports of the Bureau of Customs (BOC) surpassed their collection target for February.
“Majority, or 14, out of the 17 ports of the Bureau of Customs exceeded their collection target for the month and this is mainly because of the intensive campaign against corruption and smuggling,” said Customs Commissioner Isidro Lapeña in a statement.
The bureau has posted a surplus of PHP1.965 billion in last month’s revenue.
Based on the initial collection report from the agency’s Financial Service, it collected a total of PHP43.674 billion revenue against the PHP41.709 billion collection target. This is PHP12.82 billion or 41.5 percent higher than the PHP30.854 billion collection on the same period last year.
Lapeña attributed the increase in February collection to the improved collection of the majority of the BOC ports, notably by the revenues generated by the Manila International Container Port (MICP), Port of Manila (POM) and Batangas.
The MICP collected PHP13.438 billion revenue, up by 4.49 percent against the PHP12.861 billion target collection. The port was able to hit a surplus of PHP577 million.
The POM posted PHP6.529 billion in revenue exceeding its target of PHP6.27 billion by 4.1 percent and with the surplus reaching PHP259 million.
The Port of Batangas, on the other hand, collected PHP9.982 billion revenue with PHP326 million surplus or 3.4 percent higher than the PHP9.656 billion revenue goal.
The BOC chief said the 11 other ports that contributed to the increase in their collection are Port of Limay collected PHP2.544 billion, or 0.2 percent higher than the PHP2.538 billion revenue goal; Port of Cebu collected PHP2.084 billion, or 10.9 percent higher than the PHP1.879 billion revenue goal; Port of Davao collected PHP2.067 billion, or 54.4 percent higher than the PHP1.339 billion revenue goal; Port of Cagayan de Oro collected PHP1.668 billion, or 41.6 percent higher than the PHP1.178 billion revenue goal;
Port of Subic collected PHP1.509 billion, or 0.5 percent higher than the PHP1.501 billion revenue goal; Port of Iloilo, collected PHP373 million, or 65 percent higher than the PHP226 million revenue goal; Port of San Fernando collected PHP293 million, or 28 percent higher than the PHP228 million revenue goal; Port of Clark collected PHP142 million, or 29.1 percent higher than the PHP110 million revenue goal; Port of Tacloban collected PHP81 million, or 324.6 percent higher than the PHP19 million revenue goal; Port of Legaspi collected PHP53 million, or 166.9 percent higher than the PHP20 million revenue goal; and Port of Aparri collected PHP27 million, or 579.6 percent higher than the PHP4 million revenue goal.
The Port of Davao is notable for its consistent collection performance in 2017, and continues to perform well in January and February 2018.
The BOC monitors the entry of all shipments and closely look after any form of smuggling attempts. Lapeña has also directed bureau officials to ensure that duties and taxes go straight into the government coffers. (PR)
