BOC posts early gains in January
The Bureau of Customs (BOC) kicked off the year with a positive start in collections, as officials target a P3 to P4 billion surplus for January despite temporary system slowdowns and port issues.
According to Assistant Commissioner Vincent Maronilla, the agency’s January figures are already up by P500 million compared to the same period last year, with a one-day surplus of P2.5 billion recorded on Monday, Jan. 26.
“Right now, we’re still up by about P500 million. But we’re expecting it to be more because yesterday’s collection was affected by some slowdown in the system and some logistical issues with the ports,” Maronilla told reporters.
“But looking at the volume now of the shipments that are coming in, I think we can still increase that surplus,” he added.
The early performance provides some relief after the BOC narrowly missed its revenue targets last year, collecting P934.4 billion in 2025. This fell 2.5 percent short of the full-year goal of P958.7 billion.
For 2026, the revenue target now stands at P1.003 trillion. This is higher than last year’s intake but slightly trimmed from the original P1.013-trillion goal set by the Development Budget Coordination Committee (DBCC). This was due to adjustments to the government’s growth goals.
“Based on our January figures, we’re still up. If we continue this trend, we’re very much confident that we’re going to hit the revenue target for this year. That’s, of course, under the condition that the economic assumptions of the government will happen,” Maronilla said.
