Revenue collection by the Bureau of Customs (BOC) grew by seven percent from January to May of this year.

During the Department of Finance's Executive Committee meeting, BOC Commissioner Bienvenido Y. Rubio reported that its revenue performance increased to P330.27 billion as of May 13.

This surpassed the target of P317.87 billion for the period by 3.90 percent, or P12.41 billion and was larger compared to the same period last year when P308.65 billion was collected.

Furthermore, Rubio also reported that a total of 132 apprehensions were conducted in the first quarter resulting in seizures worth P28.02 billion.

These seizures included general merchandise, counterfeit goods, cigarettes or tobacco, and various illegal drugs uncovered at different ports.

Meanwhile, over 7.01 billion liters of fuel were marked under the fuel marking program for the current calendar year, and fuel worth P908.52 billion was marked from 2019 to May 9, 2024.

During the meeting, the BOC acknowledged the importance of the efforts of border protection in ensuring the nation's financial stability and security, noting that the agency will continue to enhance its operations and strategies to meet these critical objectives.

"The BOC remains committed to contributing to DOF's goal of fostering national socio-economic growth by collecting additional revenue for our fellow Filipino people and guarding the country's borders,” Rubio stated.

During the same meeting with Finance Secretary Ralph G. Recto, it was also decided that the government would not revise the target collection for the two revenue agencies.

For this year, collection is expected to reach P4.3 trillion wherein the bulk of the tax revenues or P3.05 trillion will be generated by the BIR, while the BOC is expected to collect P1 trillion.