Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III has commended the Bureau of Customs for its better-than-expected revenues last year while ensuring the free flow of goods and redoubling its campaign against smuggling.
During the Customs anniversary celebration last Tuesday, Dominguez said the government’s second largest tax agency performed “extremely well” in 2020 despite logistical restrictions and other difficulties arising from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Dominguez noted that under the leadership of Customs Commissioner Rey Leonardo Guerrero, Customs was able to minimize its losses and even surpass its adjusted collection target last year despite the drastic decline in trade volumes and the economic slowdown.
He also said that Guerrero pursued the agency’s modernization initiatives to achieve a more efficient customs administration.
Along with the fuel marking program, the slew of innovative reforms instituted by Customs allowed it to collect P539.763 billion in 2020, or 6.0 percent over its target of P506.2 billion.
“I am impressed with how the Bureau has continuously improved its processes to serve the Filipino people. Thank you for always exceeding our expectations,” Dominguez said in his speech.
To prepare the country’s rapid transition to the New Economy, Dominguez called on Guerrero to continue improving Customs’ services and incorporating additional digital technologies in its processes.
“The more efficient the BOC becomes, the more effective the government will be in charting the course to a strong and rapid recovery beginning this year,” Dominguez said.
Besides its laudable revenue performance, Dominguez said the agency also significantly contributed to the nation’s fight against the COVID-19 pandemic by ensuring the continuous and unhampered delivery of the medical supplies and equipment urgently needed by health workers.
Dominguez said that with Customs’ prompt release of goods despite the pandemic-induced logistical restrictions, he is certain that the bureau will be ready to facilitate the entry of safe and effective COVID-19 vaccines that are arriving in the next few weeks.
“As one of the country’s frontline workers, we will ensure that our customs boarding officers are given priority when we roll out the national vaccination program,” Dominguez told Customs.
Dominguez also cited the agency’s unrelenting campaign against smuggling, which resulted to last year's seizure of an estimated P10.62 billion-worth of “hot” goods, of which over half were illicit cigarettes and tobacco products.
“This sends a clear message that this administration will fight smuggling to the very end,” Dominguez said.
Also among the confiscated items were laptops and smartphones that the BOC recently turned over to the Department of Education (DepEd) to support its blended or distance learning program.
Before the event, the BOC also destroyed 10 smuggled luxury vehicles worth a combined P45.2 million, an act that aims to prevent smugglers from circumventing the law by attempting to acquire these vehicles through the auction process, Dominguez said.