THE Bureau of Customs (BOC) is seeking to restore funding for its modernization program, critical to its anti-smuggling drive and sustaining its revenue collections, after more than 80 percent of its proposed budget was slashed.
On the sidelines of the Development Budget Coordination Committee’s briefing at the House of Representatives last Monday, Customs Commissioner Ariel F. Nepomuceno told reporters that the BOC had requested a budget of over P28 billion for next year.
The proposal covers personnel services, maintenance and other operating expenses, capital outlays and the agency’s ‘modernization budget,’ Nepomuceno said.
However, the amount reflected in the proposed 2027 National Expenditure Program (NEP) was only P5.902 billion, an 80-percent reduction in the BOC’s original proposal.
‘What was cut was the modernization component,’ Nepomuceno said, adding that the BOC will try to appeal as budget deliberations begin. ‘How can you modernize if you don’t have the necessary systems and equipment?’
Part of the BOC’s modernization plan is to acquire more scanning machines and radiation detection equipment to strengthen controls at the country’s ports, Nepomuceno said.
An additional 124 scanning machines are needed to fully address gaps in the agency’s border control capabilities, Nepomuceno said. ‘There are issues that we cannot detect radioactive materials. To do that, we need equipment,’ he added.
Aside from scanners, the Customs chief said sea vessels and other fleet assets are also needed to enable the BOC to prevent high-seas smuggling of cigarettes, fuel and drugs.
While the agency is in partnership with the Philippine Coast Guard and the Philippine National Police – Maritime Command in securing national borders, they have their own mandates and priorities, Nepomuceno noted.
The BOC is eyeing public-private partnerships (PPP) as an alternative way to finance some of its modernization projects. However, he noted that it could be difficult as importers would have to be charged for certain customs services, such as the selectivity system.
Nepomuceno said better equipment and enforcement capabilities would directly strengthen the BOC’s anti-smuggling efforts and indirectly help increase revenue collections.
‘[The modernization program] will sustain the momentum of collecting well and collecting based on forecast or projections,’ he added.
This year, the BOC is expected to hit its P1.011 trillion revenue target, which was increased from the earlier goal of P1.003 trillion.
As of end-July, the BOC has collected P587.711 billion, or 58.13 percent of the full-year target.
The BOC is projected to collect P1.074 trillion in 2027 and P1.134 trillion in 2028, based on state budget documents.