The Bureau of Customs (BOC) collected P229.68 million from the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) as payment for due and demandable bonds covering three decades.
The various uncollected bonds came from the three major ports in the country—Manila International Container Terminal (MICT), Port of Manila, and Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA)—encompassing an obligation period going way back to the mid-1970s up to the early 2000s.
The largest collected bond came from MICT with P148.53 million for 176 bonds, followed by the Port of Manila with P65.97 million (114 bonds) and NAIA, P15.18 million (71 bonds).
“These GSIS-issued Customs bonds like warehousing bonds, re-export bonds, and surety bonds were not liquidated and cancelled by importers that is why they became due and demandable dating as far back as 1976 up to 2003,” Customs Commissioner Alberto Lina said in a statement.
He added the amount collected will help augment national funds and finance government projects. “We are happy with the development as we are now getting paid for unliquidated bonds spanning for several decades. It is good that GSIS President (Robert) Vergara wanted to clear it from their books,” Lina noted.
Earlier, Lina said BOC is looking at replacing surety bonds with treasury bonds, which he said are as good as cash.
A surety bond is a contract used to guarantee that a specific obligation will be fulfilled between customs and an importer for any given import transaction. A treasury bond or note, on the other hand, is a medium- to long-term government security that pays interest regularly (known as interest coupon payments). Treasury bonds or notes are a relatively risk-free investment as they are direct obligations of the Philippines denominated in the local currency.
Lina said the scheme to switch from surety bonds to treasury bonds is a win-win situation for both government and stakeholders and has already been approved by the National Treasury.
Image courtesy of Stuart Miles at FreeDigitalPhotos.net
