FOUR of the country’s regional ports topped the list of commercial gateways that posted the highest customs collection for the past year while Manila’s domestic and international ports fell short of their respective collection targets. The Bureau of Customs (BoC) reported that the Port of Batangas ranked first with a P1.041 million surplus, mostly coming from duties on imported oil and motor vehicle. The port earlier targeted P21.9 billion but exceeded this with a P22.9 billion haul. Cagayan de Oro’s port placed second with a P820 million surplus, exceeding by P2.4 billion its P1.6-billion target. Third is the Port of San Fernando in the province of La Union which posted a P101-million surplus with a total collection of P763 million against its P662 million target. The Port of Tacloban followed with a P51 million surplus. Two more ports in the southern Mindanao region belonged to the top list, including the Port of Davao that registered a P21 million excess collection and the Port of Surigao with P8 million. More busy ports, on the other hand, fell short of their target, the BOC said. The Manila International Container
Port (MICP) dipped according to agency’s records, with a P7.8 billion fall in collection. The MICP collected only P42.3 billion against its P50.1-billion target. The Port of Manila also experienced a shortfall of P2.99 billion. It collected P47.8 billion against its projected P50.75 billion. Ninoy Aquino International Airport fell P2.77 billion from its target, collecting only P12.8 billion. In all, BOC said six of the 15 top ports surpassed their respective collection targets, adding that the rest of the ports fell short of their target. It expects the P9.6-billion shortfall to be covered by tax expenditure funds.
