THE Bureau of Customs (BOC) announced collecting P60.524 billion as of August 23, exceeding its P58.85 billion target for the month.
A statement issued by the BOC last Thursday noted the actual collection is already up by 2.8 percent or by P1.675 billion compared to the monthly target.
Since January this year, the agency has been surpassing its monthly collection targets.
The bureau added it is also “poised to sustain its consistently good performance record through the implementation of its enhanced reform programs.”
Acting Customs Commissioner Yogi Filemon Ruiz earlier said the BOC aimed to hit another record-high monthly collection this August, even higher than the agency’s revenue take in July this year of P84.4 billion.
Ruiz, however, admitted the objective faced a challenge in the observance of the Chinese “Ghost Month” festival when most people eschew making big-life decisions, including in business.
Being the second-biggest revenue collection agency, the BOC is tasked to collect P721.5 billion this year. Ruiz earlier expressed confidence the agency is on track to hit its higher internal collection goal of P740 billion.
The Acting Customs chief has also vowed to replace district collectors who will fall short of their assigned revenue targets. Ruiz said the move is in line with the marching order of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. to improve the bureau’s revenue generation.
Apart from increasing revenue generation, Ruiz said the President also ordered him to eliminate the smuggling of illegal drugs, firearms and agricultural products. He added Marcos also ordered the full automation and digitalization of Customs processes.
In a report to the Department of Finance in January last year, then-Customs Commissioner Rey Leonardo B. Guerrero said the agency has fully automated frontline services by allowing the online submission of documents through a “Customer Care Portal System,” upgrading its electronic-to-mobile (E2M) system to computerize manual processes and accepting online payment options.
“The E2M upgrade is continuously being developed, but critical modules are already being deployed in various ports, an online payment was established and on-line submission of documents is now integrated via the ‘customer care portal.’ Likewise, all deliverables for our priority program on improving our risk management system were also achieved on time,” Guerrero said.
He added that the bureau improved its risk-management processes last year by utilizing an electronic cargo-targeting system, enhancing its cargo selectivity system and rolling out a new “Universal Risk Management System.”
Guerrero was later identified in a Senate Committee of the Whole report as among government officials allegedly involved in agricultural smuggling. The former BOC chief has “vehemently” denied the accusations.”