Wednesday, April 16, 2008 Customs lost P40 million due to port strike By Victor L. Camion
THE Bureau of Customs (BOC) has suffered more than P40 million losses from the prolonged strike at the port of Dumaguete.
Customs collector Medolita Cabanag told Sun.Star that the bureau has collected only about P2 million during the 1st quarter of 2008, compared to more than P43 million of the same period last year.
She also stressed that the collection this year failed to comply the target as set by the Bureau of Finance (BOF).
The bureau collected P43,385,000 during the 1st quarter of 2007, according to Deputy collector Datu Camad Ali.
Cabanag said the bureau will not be able to comply the target collection this year.
In view of the port problems, Cabanag requested Secretary Margarito Teves to reduce its target to P15 million this year.
Cabanag has submitted her request through Customs district collector Ricardo Belmonte based in Cebu.
Belmonte, however, told Cabanag that they will help the local collector to get the target.
Cabanag, on the other hand, promised to comply the target amount but asked Teves to understand in case they fail.
She stressed that the Customs has already incurred losses on collection after the port workers affiliated with the Associated Labor Union-Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (ALU-TUCP) on September 2007.
Union members have stage their strike after the new cargo handling operator Prudential Brokerage Services Incorporated (PCBSI) refused to acknowledge them.
Since then, Cabanag stressed importers are hesitant to buy goods due to the abnormal condition of the port.
Cabanag said losses for the 4th quarter of 2007 were covered by the huge collection of revenues from first to third quarter of 2007.
The bureau has collected more than P72 million for the year 2007 or more than P17 million over and above the target collection, she said.
Cabanag appealed the concern agencies to resolve the port problem sooner because it will not just affect the revenue collection of the BoC but the economy in the province in a whole.
