“Deviation vs target,” or deficit, has become a regular phrase in the monthly collection report of the Bureau of Customs (BOC).
For a fifth consecutive month, the BOC registered a revenue shortfall.
In May, the Department of Finance-attached agency was able to collect P25.9 billion, short by P3.4 billion of its collection target of P29.3 billion.
Last month, revenues also totaled P25.9 billion, short P1.8 billion of the collection for the same period in 2012, which was P27.7 billion.
From January to May this year, the BOC took in a little more than P121.7 billion, some P13.3 billion short of its goal of P135 billion.
Aside from the strong peso, the bureau blamed globalization, trade liberalization and sluggish international trade for the steady decline in its collections.
A BOC collection report, a copy of which was furnished the Inquirer, showed that only six of the agency’s 17 collection districts nationwide met their monthly revenue targets. These were the Subic Freeport in Zambales and the offices in Cagayan de Oro City, Clark International Airport, and Cebu, Davao and Zamboanga cities.
Subic took in the most with P948 million, surpassing its P531-million target by P417 million.
It was followed by Cagayan de Oro with revenues of P663 million, P205 million more than its goal of P458 million.
Next came Clark with revenues of P108 million, or P34 million over its P74 million target.
On the other hand, other major ports, like the Manila International Container Port, Batangas, Bataan, Ninoy Aquino International Airport and the Port of Manila, registered deficits in collection.
The MICP’s revenues totaled P6.74 billion, P860 million short of the port’s target of P7.6 billion.
The ports of Batangas and Limay in Bataan registered revenues of P5.6 billion and P3.31 billion, respectively, short of their goals of P6.16 billion and P3.7 billion.
The Naia and the Port of Manila also failed to meet their targets. Their May collections totaled only P2 billion and P5.08 billion, respectively, against their goals of P2.2 billion and P5.27 billion.
Other BOC collection districts also registered revenue shortfalls: Aparri, Cagayan, P26 million; Iloilo, P12.9 million; Tacloban, Leyte, P7.9 million; Surigao, P4.2 million; and Legazpi, P400,000.—Jerry E. Esplanada