Drilon, Villar grill Customs exec over ‘unrealistic’ growth target

Senate President Franklin Drilon and Neophyte Senator Cynthia Villar. INQUIRER FILE PHOTOS

MANILA, Philippines – Two senators on Tuesday found the 20-percent growth target of the Bureau of Customs (BOC) for 2014 “unrealistic,” citing the bureau’s past  performance.

From 1.2 percent projection this year,  Senate President Franklin Drilon wondered  how the  BoC could grow to  20 percent in 2014.

“The first six months collection is 1.2-percent over six months of last year and yet for 2014,   you expect a 20-percent growth? This is totally, to me, totally unrealistic. From 1.2 -percent growth to a 20-percent growth?” Drilon asked during the briefing conducted by the Development Budget Coordinating Committee (DBCC)   at the Senate.

Customs deputy commissioner Peter Manzano, who was present at the hearing,  admitted the  bureau’s growth target next year was a “little bit stretched.”

“Just for example the foregone revenues for the first six months alone, we already lost P20 billion for  collections on account of the free trade agreement and we expect to lose the same foregone revenues for next year,”  Manzano told   the Senate committee on finance.

“Then why are you  predicting a 20-percent increase?” asked Drilon.

Manzano said they just provided the data to the   Department of Finance that gave the BOC the  growth target for 2014.

Neophyte Senator Cynthia Villar had doubted the BOC’s capability to reach its  growth target  next year.

“You have a very optimistic growth target. Considering what’s happening to the BOC, do you think this is really a realistic target?” Villar said.

“We provided the data to the DOF and based on the findings of the DOF, we believe, your  honor, that the target is realistic,” Manzano said.

“Why do you think it’s realistic? Can you give us an explanation why you think it’s realistic because we are not as realistic?” Villar added.

But Internal Revenue Commissioner Kim Jacinto-Henares, who was also  present at the hearing, came to the rescue of the BOC, saying that  the target was “reachable” with the reforms that are now  being initiated by the bureau.

“It should be something that’s not impossible,” Henares said.

The Bureau of Internal Revenue chief further argued that if the government would say that it was already satisfied with the 1.2-percent growth, then  she said it was like saying, “it’s OK for you to keep mediocre.”

“So are you saying that the BOC is mediocre?” asked Villar, but Henares immediately clarified that  she was not referring to the BOC.

Related Stories:

Customs misses collection target for 7th straight month

Biazon willing to surrender a customs function to BIR