Customs blames bad revenues on politics

The total collections for November have not been good, Customs-Cebu district collector Maria Lourdes Mangaoang admitted yesterday, she blamed the political instability of the country as the possible cause.

"Unfortunately dili maayo ang collection," Mangaoang said referring to the revenues of at least P200 million that fell short of her P336-million target and way below the collections of the previous months, since she assumed office in May.

Mangaoang said importers have chosen to sit tight while the country's political situation has been noticeably shaky, but she was optimistic that the collections will recover by December.

She said that when she assumed office, at least seven foreign cargo vessels loaded with highly taxable imported goods regularly arrived every week but the number has drastically dropped since political instability started to overwhelm the Arroyo administration.

Apprehensions over the political situation are expected to continue until the end of the year and Mangaoang said she might not be able to meet the more than P3.9 billion target for this year.

Mangaoang had registered a first for the Port of Cebu when she surpassed its second quarter collection target by more than P200 million and almost P500 million higher than that of the same period, last year. - Fred P. Languido