BUREAU of Customs (BOC) acting commissioner Yogi Filemon Ruiz demonstrated he is up to the task of maintaining the bureau’s ‘double digit’ surplus collection after it posted actual collection of P78.92 billion for the month of August, Ruiz’s first full month in office.
The tax-take is some P20 billion more than the agency’s actual target of P58.8 billion for a positive deviation of 34.1 percent.
Citing the data from the Financial Service, the BOC, in a statement on September 4, 2022, also bared that for the first time in so many months, all of its 17 collection districts managed to surpass their respective collection assignments and achieved a P15.8 billion or 25 percent cumulative surplus.
Broken down, the collection includes the P77.9 billion coming from all the collection districts, P248 million from the Post Clearance Audit Group (PCAG) under Assistant Commissioner Vincent Maronilla and, P677.4 million from the Tax Expenditure Fund (TEF).
With the development, Ruiz has continued the BOC’s double digit ‘surplus streak’ since the start of the year to 8 months and to 14 months dating back to June 2021, when the agency started to consistently meet its monthly assigned target under his predecessor, Comm. Rey Leonardo Guerrero.
Under Guerrero, the BOC first registered its first ‘historic’ monthly collection last March when it collected P70.778 billion. This, however, was broken during Guerrero’s last two months in office, in the months of June and July.
In June, the BOC collected P76.290 billion against its assigned target of P56.287 billion for a 35.5 percent positive deviation equivalent to P20.003 billion.
The next month of July, Guerrero’s last month in office, the agency collected a total of P84.424 billion, a 38.9 percent increase equivalent to P23.639 billion surplus, compared to its assigned target of P60.785 billion for the month. The record July collection is yet to be duplicated or surpassed (see also Pinoy Exposé, August 2, 2022).
The equally impressive August performance by the agency under Ruiz made the BOC garner a total cumulative revenue since January of P559.2 billion, which is P146.9 billion more than the P412 billion actual collection from the same timeline in 2021 for a positive deviation of 35.6 percent.
The collection performance of the BOC and its 17 collection districts under Ruiz has been attributed to the intensified collection efforts, the streamlined, digitized, and modernized systems first established by Guerrero and the increased volume in trade traffic due to the improving performance of the economy.
‘Redemption’ for Subic Port officials
Meanwhile, it was complete ‘redemption’ for the top officials of the Port of Subic headed by Collector Maritess Martin after they were reinstated by Ruiz to their respective posts.
In an order dated August 31, 2022, Ruiz directed the return to their post of Martin, Deputy Collector (Assessment) Maita S. Acevedo, Deputy Collector (Operations) Giovanni Ferdinand A. Leynes, Assessment Division Chief Belinda F. Lim, ESS District Commander Vincent Mark S. Malasmas, and, CIIS Field Supervisor Atty. Justin S. Geli.
About a week before, on August 22, 2022, the port officials were relieved by Ruiz and temporarily re-assigned to his office pending the result of an official investigation related to the landing of the M/V Bangpakaew loaded with some 7,000 metric tons of refined sugar from Thailand (see also Pinoy Exposé, August 24, 2022).
“Results of the investigation conducted by the Internal Inquiry and Prosecution Division of the Customs Intelligence and Investigation Service (IIPD-CIIS) showed that there was no negligence on the part of the BOC-Port of Subic personnel in the discharge of their duties,” Ruiz said in a statement last September 1, 2022.
The arrival of the sugar came at a time when the government, thru the BOC, has been conducting a series of visits and inspection on warehouses containing sugar all over the country to verify reports that it is being ‘hoarded’ in order to create an artificial shortage of supply and jack up its market price. Sugar is a highly-regulated commodity subject to the issuance of government permit prior to its importation.
At the time of their surprised relief, Martin said they found the shipping documents in order and had found no reason to detain the sugar’s release.
The investigation, Ruiz said, concluded that the permit/clearance issued by the Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) “proved authentic, not recycled,” as alleged by some quarters in the mainstream media.
“The investigators found all documents presented were complete and properly complied,” Ruiz said, adding:
“The statement of the BOC-Subic Port of Subic personnel are consistent with and corroborated by the certification issued by the SRA. Thus, there is no prima facie nor substantial evidence to warrant the filing of administrative charges against the concerned BOC personnel.”