The Senate Ways and Means Committee will conduct an ocular inspection and walk-through of the Bureau of Custom (BOC) in Port Area, Manila on Monday.

In a news release on Sunday, committee chair Senator Sherwin Gatchalian said they will be with the officers and members of the Senate Tax Study and Research Office in assessing the BOC’s modernization program that involves the integration of the Ports of Manila, Cebu, and Davao and the Manila International Container Port to the Customs Operations Center in Port Area.

“Napansin natin na patuloy pa din ang pagpasok ng mga smuggled goods at kailangang matugunan ang problemang ito lalo na ngayong magpapasko at dagsa ang mga mamimili (We noticed that the smuggling of goods continues and we want to address this problem, especially during this Christmas season where there are plenty of shoppers),” Gatchalian said.

Last week, the government confiscated a cargo of 100,000 kilos of white onions which were undervalued and misdeclared as bread and pastries.

Also recently, BOC agents intercepted more than PHP63 million worth of frozen goods from Hong Kong and China.

A major component of the BOC modernization program focuses on transitioning from a largely manual and paper-based organization into a modernized agency compliant with global standards by 2024.

“The BOC’s revenue collection performance would improve if smuggling is effectively addressed. Higher budgetary allocations to finance the government’s projects can be realized if revenue-collecting agencies are able to meet their target,” Gatchalian said.

In 2021, the BOC posted a total revenue collection of PHP645.77 billion, a 20-percent rise from a total collection of PHP537.69 billion the previous year.

The BOC set a revenue collection target of PHP671.66 billion for 2022 and has collected PHP320.5 billion as of May, based on Department of Finance data. (PNA)