BOC's 2011 collection estimated at P290.77 billion

MANILA, Philippines - The Bureau of Customs (BOC) expects to collect P290.766 billion in 2011, below the P320-billion collection goal set for the year.

Customs Commissioner Ruffy Biazon said the P290.766-billion projected collections took into account the expected improvement in revenue in December.

Nevertheless, the P290.766 billion is still P30 billion short of the 2011 target set by the interagency Development Budget Coordination Committee (DBCC).

According to the latest data from BOC, the agency has collected P249.45 billion during the first 11 months of 2011.

In his First 100 Days in Office report released yesterday, Biazon said among his major accomplishments were the review system he put in place in the agency.

“While the magnitude of accomplishments have yet to be seen, I have initiated a review of the system in the BOC, beginning with the computerized customs clearing process. We have tapped experts in the field to identify the loopholes in the system which we aim to plug this year,” Biazon said.

 He said the agency has secured the release of P192 million to replace the bureau’s computer hardware.

“This is crucial because at the condition that our hardware is in right now, it can breakdown anytime and cause a meltdown in the processing of entries,” Biazon said.

He also said that he has been able to push the organization to “shorten the time gap” between the confiscations of smuggled goods and the filing of charges against those involved.

At the same time, Biazon concedes that he has not yet accomplished anything big in his first three months in office.

“The first 100 days for a complete newcomer in the Bureau of Customs isn’t enough to accomplish something really big in terms of infrastructure or revenue collection. But I believe I have made significant strides in aspects where the public’s perception of the Bureau is concerned,” he said.

However, records clearly showed that under Biazon’s watch, the Run After the Smugglers (RATS) program of the BOC has not been able to file cases that are worth at least P1 billion as his predecessor former Customs Commissioner Angelito Alvarez had done. During Alvarez’ time, the RATS program was under the leadership of Deputy Commissioner Gregory Chavez.

Among the cases slapped by the BOC under Biazon’s watch included a P96.8-million smuggling case against traders of laptop computers and a P3.7- million case against smugglers of onions.