THE Bureau of Customs (BoC) said it expects to use the P50 billion it will receive from the reallocated public works budget to fund its efforts in countering a recent rise in physical smuggling.
“Bringing in illicit goods based on our recent apprehensions has shifted from technical smuggling to outright smuggling,” Assistant Commissioner Vincent Philip C. Maronilla told reporters on the sidelines of an event.
“We need all the logistical support to be able to identify where exactly on the open seas (the smugglers) are operating and (put in place) the right equipment to stop those particular activities,” he said.
Some P255 billion was taken away from the 2026 budget of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) in the wake of the flood control scandal, which triggered a review of the department’s funding.
Regarding the BoC’s revenue performance this year, Mr. Maronilla said he expects collections to fall about 1%, mainly due to smuggling, though the BoC’s estimates of “revenue leakage” differ from those of its parent agency, the Department of Finance, indicating a disagreement on the extent of smuggling’s impact.
Mr. Maronilla estimated the effects of smuggling on revenue at about P6-7 billion per month, while Finance Secretary Ralph G. Recto has said the impact of smuggling could be as high as P150 billion for the full year.
The BoC collected P916.674 billion in 2024.
“Maybe it’s P150 billion. Maybe (Mr. Recto) has a basis for that estimate. But I think for us, we’ve reduced the gap very significantly with the way we’re collecting,” Mr. Maronilla said.
While the BoC is “struggling” in terms of volume of imports, “the rate of assessment is up, collections year on year are up,” Mr. Maronilla said.
He added the higher collections in September were likely driven by oil, which usually takes up 25% of the total, as well as food, steel, and motor vehicles.
Mr. Maronilla added the BoC will forego some collections as a result of the 60-day freeze on rice imports. He added that the agency has no specific estimates of the impact of the rice import ban, which could be extended.
President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. initially ordered a 60-day suspension of rice imports starting Sept. 1, to provide relief to farmers who have been receiving low offers for their grain. The Department of Agriculture has since been ordered to prepare for an extension of the ban, which could be accompanied by an import tariff hike from the current 15%. — Aaron Michael C. Sy