By Aubrey Rose A. Inosante, Reporter
THE Bureau of Customs (BoC) said revenue collection may are available below goal this yr because of slower import activity amid the rice import ban and the corruption scandal.
In accordance with a document obtained by BusinessWorld, the BoC collected P898.75 billion in revenues as of Dec. 16, which is reminiscent of 94% of the P958.71-billion full-year goal.
For the primary half of December, Customs revenues reached P39.25 billion, just 51% of the P77.91-billion monthly goal, with two weeks remaining.
Customs Commissioner Ariel F. Nepomuceno said the agency’s emerging revenue forecast for 2025 is at P939.4 billion, 2% lower than the full-year goal.
“From the P958-billion goal for this yr, it was adjusted after considering all external aspects,” he said in an interview with BusinessWorld on the Port of Manila on Dec. 16. “From P958 billion, it became P939 billion. So the revenue losses have already been taken under consideration.”
Mr. Nepomuceno said a technical working group has submitted the most recent 2025 revenue projection to the Development Budget Coordination Committee (DBCC).
For 2026, Customs is now targeting P1.003.8 trillion in revenues, 0.99% lower than the previous goal of P1.013 trillion. The gathering goal for 2027 was also reduced by 1.70% to P1.054 trillion.
Mr. Nepomuceno said improved collection efficiency has helped sustain revenue performance this yr at the same time as import volumes proceed to say no.
“Despite the decrease in the quantity of imports, collections still increased. Which means during the last 4 months, we’ve shown that collection efficiency could be used as a measure,” he said.
Nonetheless, Mr. Nepomuceno noted that importers have been buying less over the past three to 4 months, citing broader economic aspects.
“It may very well be the external aspects — perhaps the boldness level of importers, how much they resolve to stock, and the way much they expect consumers will buy,” he said.
A corruption scandal involving flood control projects has dampened investor and consumer confidence, and slowed government spending and economic activity.
Mr. Nepomuceno said the decline in infrastructure spending could have led to a slowdown in imports of construction materials in recent months.
The federal government’s ban on rice imports, which began in September and is ready to finish in December, could have also affected BoC’s ability to achieve its revenue goal this yr.
Customs Assistant Commissioner Vincent Philip C. Maronilla said Philippine import volumes have been “fluctuating” all year long after the rice import ban.
He noted that overall volumes have inched up in recent days, but were still down by an annual 2–3% in early December.
“But for those who take a look at the quantity for consumption entries, those which can be being paid, it’s a bit down, more substantial. With that, we’re still reeling from the consequences of the rice ban,” he told BusinessWorld on the sidelines of an event on Dec. 18.
Mr. Maronilla still expects the broader economy to progressively regain momentum.
“We’re averaging, for the past few days, about P4 billion a day, P4.5 (billion). We’re hoping that we will find a way to sustain the momentum to catch up for a minimum of the December revenue goal and produce that momentum going to 2026,” he said.
PESO WEAKNESS
Customs officials also saw the recent peso’s weakness as an element shaping import behavior.
“How currency exchange rates affect the behavior of importers is the primary consideration. They fight to predict the consumers’ buying power. That’s the indirect impact on volume,” Mr. Nepomuceno said.
The peso has breached the P59-a-dollar mark several times since November and sank to a record low of P59.22 on Dec. 9.
“However the direct impact on collection, a weaker peso means more pesos for each dollar,” the BoC chief said. “From a revenue standpoint, that’s perhaps favorable.”
Mr. Maronilla said that the currency’s depreciation is “supposedly positive for the Bureau” when converting dollar‑denominated valuations into pesos.
“A weaker peso will mean higher peso value of imports and due to this fact increased Customs duties collections,” Foundation for Economic Freedom President Calixto V. Chikiamco said in a Viber message.
He said the identical applies to higher oil prices, which might raise the worth of imports and due to this fact customs collections, assuming import volumes remain unchanged.