Twelve of the 17 collection districts surpassed their respective revenue targets in February, contributing to the P44.4-billion overall collection of the Bureau of Customs.
Documents from the Customs Finance Service Office also showed that the agency’s tax collection is 1.6 percent or P698 million higher compared to the P43.7-billion collection in the same period last year.
Revenue collection was up in the Port of Manila which collected P6.5 billion, more than P5 million against its target.
The port managed to continue its operations and surpass the target for the month despite the fire incident that destroyed an estimated P50 million worth of government systems and facility.
“Come hell or high water, not even a conflagration can stop us from raising Port of Manila from the ashes through sheer will power of someone who refuses to be disheartened and daunted by challenges no matter how insurmountable the odds may seem,” said lawyer Rhea Gregorio, PoM district collector.
The Port of Manila is the bureau’s third largest collection district.
Strong performances last month also allowed the ports of Cagayan de Oro, Subic, Davao, Batangas, Surigao, Zamboanga, Limay, Legazpi, Tacloban, Aparri and San Fernando to hit their revenue targets.
Cagayan de Oro collected P2.2 billion; San Fernando, P377 million; Batangas, P11.3 billion; Legazpi, P80 million; Tacloban, P111 million; Surigao, P2 million; Zamboanga, P58 million; Davao, P2.3 billion; Subic, P2.2 billion; Aparri, P35 million and Limay, P2.3 billion.
The Manila International Container Port, Ninoy Aquino International Airport, Port of Iloilo, Port of Cebu, and Port of Clark, although they missed their collection target for February, also contributed to the collection performance of the bureau.
The bureau’s initial total accrued revenue from January to February 2019 has reached P92.793 billion, exceeding the P92.329 billion target by 0.5 percent or a revenue surplus of P464 million.
The agency’s revenue collection performance is the result of the correct valuation and tariff classification being implemented in all ports.
Customs Commissioner Rey Leonardo Guerrero commended the men and women of the agency for their shared efforts and commitment to realize its mandate.
Meanwhile, Port of Manila officials declared that the port is no longer congested, saying the yard utilization level in the south harbor was down to 64 percent as of Feb. 4.
At present, the number of laden containers piled up at Manila South Harbor stood at 78 percent while empty containers were only occupying 47 percent of the yard.
This represents a 34 percent drop from January 3, when the port recorded a high yard utilization rate at 98 percent and the number of laden and empty containers was at 100 percent and 93 percent, respectively.
The Port of Manila, in partnership with its stakeholders and Asian Terminal Inc., has implemented measures to address the problem of high yard utilization at the port. ATI operates the Manila South Harbor.
Authorized personnel conducted inventory of empty containers at the ATI yard by virtue of the letter of authority issued by Commissioner Guerrero while overstaying empty containers were issued demand letters and Decrees of Abandonment.
This was followed by PoM shipping out overstaying laden containers to the ATI yard in Sta. Clara, Batangas to free up space inside the port. PoM strictly monitors the return and load out of empty containers.
Moreover, monitoring at the south harbor showed a decline on the number of vessels at queue from as high as 21 vessels to only six vessels as of March 5.