Customs exceeds target

The Bureau of Customs exceeded its target collection of import duties and other taxes for the second straight month in March, but Commissioner Isidro S. Lapeña said Monday that he would again fire the heads of five ports that underperformed last month.

“Based on the initial report from the BOC’s financial service, a total of P45.4 billion in revenue was collected, exceeding the P45.13-billion target for the month of March by P265 million,” Lapeña said in a statement.

Last month’s collections also jumped 19.1 percent from P38.1 billion in March last year.

Lapeña noted that the BOC managed to surpass its March revenue target even as there were two nonworking holidays that month.

Of the country’s 17 ports, 12 achieved their respective targets in March, Lapeña added.

Five ports missed their targets for the month, namely the Port of Manila, the Manila International Container Port, the Ninoy Aquino International Airport as well as the ports of Iloilo and Zamboanga.

However, the BOC said that “the district collectors of these ports and others concerned will be eventually replaced.”