Subic Customs collection jumps 365% to P563M

SUBIC BAY FREEPORT – Customs collections at the Subic Bay Freeport shot up by as much as 365 percent last month due to what was described as "client-friendly" policies initiated here by Customs District Collector Billy Bibit.

According to a report by Marilyn Domingo, chief of the Bureau of Customs (BOC) collection division here, the Subic Customs Collection District recorded a total of P563,055,832.80 cash collection last month, or an average of close to P26 million in daily cash collections.

The total cash collections exceeded by 365 percent the P154-million target set for the month by Customs Commissioner Titus Villanueva.

Subic Customs also recorded close to P69 million in non-cash collections for July from duties and taxes deferred on government importation, Domingo said.

Customs Collector Teresita Abad, chief of the assessment division, meanwhile, said the increase in collections could be directly attributed to "client friendly policies" instituted at the BOC Subic office since Bibit assumed office last April.

Within four months under the new district collector, the Subic Customs Collection District contributed to the national treasury more than P1.137 billion, an increase of more than 95 percent over the collection performance in the same period last year, Abad said.

Bibit, meanwhile, announced that the Subic Customs Collection District will open an office near the SBMA Seaport Department here "to bring Customs services closer to the clients."

The new office, which will serve as a "one-stop action center," is one of the several "proactive programs" that Subic Customs had implemented to cut red tape and develop responsible partnership with investors at the Subic Bay Freeport.

Bibit had earlier assured Subic investors that his office will "anticipate and provide for the needs" of clients by devising measures to minimize the issuance of alert orders and providing service right at the doorstep of importers upon unloading of cargoes.

He also announced that he has forbidden Customs personnel to moonlight as brokers, or to intercede in the release of shipments, and at the same time urged Subic investors to help devise schemes to properly describe cargoes and imports and minimize the issuance of alert orders.

He added that the relocation of the Customs office closer to the ports will preclude the need for importers to send brokers to the Customs office near the Freeport main gate upon unloading of cargoes.

The Customs official, however, stressed that the "investor-friendly" policies of the Customs office should not be taken as a sign of laxity in the implementation of appropriate laws.

"We have to enforce revenue collections regulations while resolving the customs-related issues that turn off investors and make the Subic Bay Freeport less attractive," Bibit added.