CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY, July 26 — The flow of goods and services has remained stable in Northern Mindanao amid the implementation of Martial Law.
If at all, military rule has even created a stable environment for peace and order that encouraged importers to ship their goods in the region, said Alvin Enciso, chief of BOC-10’s Customs Intelligence and Investigation Service (CIIS).
President Rodrigo Duterte declared martial law on May 23 following the siege of Marawi City of an ISIS-inspired extremist group that has resulted to the displacement of thousands of residents and the death of hundreds of civilians.
The installation of checkpoints,specifically in highways that cut through the cities of Iligan and Cagayan de Oro, has been perceived as advantageous by the importers since their cargoes pass through these highly secured areas, said Enciso.
Collection figures are also up since Martial Law was imposed, Enciso said, adding that “even our imports have gone up.”
In June, the Mindanao Container Terminal (MCT) sub-port in Tagoloan, Misamis Oriental, where the bulk of the imported materials arrive from other countries, recorded a collection of PHP811.23 million, or 12.50 percent increase from its PHP721.11 million target, said Samson Pacasum, the port collector.
The MCT is one of the sea ports under the jurisdiction and management of BOC-10 and yet it collects the volume of tax collection and other duties from importation.
In the same period last year, MCT had only collected PHP589.795 million, or 20.19 percent lower than its PHP739 million target.
Pacasum said MCT aims to collect some PHP8.53 billion by the end of 2017. BOC-10’s overall target for this year is PHP11 billion.
Enciso also credited the upbeat collection target to the measures instituted by the newly appointed BOC-10 district collector, Jamail Marohomsalic, who assured to “put premium on collecting more taxes” to help the government realize its big-ticket infrastructure projects.
Marohomsalic, who has served the port of Davao for 25 years in various capacities, was appointed by Pres. Duterte as port collector of Davao before his current posting in Region 10. (Jigger J. Jerusalem/PNA)
