123 YEARS President Marcos arrives at the 123rd anniversary of the Bureau of Customs at the Philippine International Convention Center. 鈥擯NA
President Marcos on Friday lauded the for collecting P931.046 billion ($17 billion) in 2024, the highest in the agency鈥檚 history.
Last year鈥檚 revenue collection was higher by P40 billion from the P890.446 billion collected in 2023.
鈥淭he 2024 collections can fund more than 7,500 train cars, more than 18,600,000 laptops, around 62,000,000 tablets for our schoolchildren, or roughly 7,750,000 scholarships for our university students,鈥� the President said during the BOC鈥檚 123rd anniversary held at the Philippine International Convention Center in Pasay City.
Mr. Marcos went on: 鈥淭his means that with the right collection of tariffs at our ports, our countrymen can enjoy faster travel, our children can have enough supplies and material for their education, and many more of our youth can finish college.鈥�
The Chief Executive also praised the agency鈥檚 work in safeguarding the country鈥檚 borders against exploitation by smugglers.
He cited the BOC鈥檚 seizure of more than P85 billion in smuggled goods in 2024, or higher than the P43 billion seizure of smuggled goods in the previous year.
The smuggled goods included illegal vape products, counterfeit items and illegal fuel shipments.
Anti-smuggling drive
Marcos said the intensified fight against smuggling will 鈥渁llow our businesses to compete more fairly in the market, and our consumers to enjoy more competitive prices, and our people will save money in the long run.鈥�
He also pointed to the BOC鈥檚 involvement against agricultural smuggling to protect farmers from illegal agricultural products that swamp the market.
He cited the seizure of 21 containers of frozen mackerel worth more than P178 million, which was turned over to the Department of Agriculture and later distributed to 150,000 families in various communities and care facilities.
In 2023, recovered smuggled rice was distributed to Filipinos in Capiz and Zamboanga,聽 Marcos added.
鈥淭his proves how the BOC鈥檚 efforts form an integral part of our development as we help those in the marginalized sectors of our society,鈥� the President said.
As to its campaign against illegal and questionable activities of importers and customs brokers, the Chief Executive noted that the BOC de-accredited 56 importers and customs brokers for these reasons.
He added that 45 criminal complaints were filed against offenders, of which 18 were convicted and three BOC employees were dismissed due to misconduct or inefficiency. Five other BOC employees were suspended, he said.
鈥淔or the law to be fair, it must apply to all, especially to us who are in public service. The people have placed their trust in us, and they deserve nothing less than our utmost diligence, our integrity and our total accountability,鈥� the President added.
He then called on BOC officials and personnel to prioritize the public鈥檚 interest by working honestly, adding that building the public鈥檚 confidence in the BOC is necessary to increase tax compliance.