COA chides Bueau of Customs over P1-B unremitted funds

State auditors have called out the Bureau of Customs (BOC) for not remitting P1 billion in trust receipts and unspent funds to the National Treasury and depriving the government of much-needed funds. The unremitted cash totaled P1.058 billion, of which P14.623 million came from unexpended allocations for operating expenses and P1.043 billion are trust funds for auction, tentative release, bid documents, cash bond and informer’s reward. In 2019, the Commission on Audit (COA) recommended that the BOC deposit P1.079 billion in trust receipts to the treasury, as required by the 2020 General Appropriations Act. But only P306.637 million was deposited to the treasury.

—Julie M. Aurelio