REVENUE collection in the Port of Davao and its sub-ports reached P13 billion in the first half of 2020, surpassing its adjusted target of P11 billion amid pandemic.

The Port of Davao, which includes those in ports of Dadiangas, Parang, and Mati, exceeded its collection by about 23.14 percent or P2.5 billion.

Bureau of Customs Davao (BOC-Davao) district collector Erastus Sandino Austria said their target was reduced to adapt to the ongoing pandemic and its impact on the economy and global trade.

“Bisan wala gibawasan ang target sa Bureau of Customs Port of Davao, positive ang atong performance year-to-date. This is because during the first quarter, naka accumulate ta og dako nga surplus already (Even if our target was not reduced, we can still have a positive year-to-date performance because we have accumulated a huge surplus already during the first quarter),” he said.

Based on the data from the BOC-Davao, the highest surplus in the revenue collection in the first quarter of the year was in March, which is at 18.08 percent or about P353 million from the adjusted target collection of P1.9 billion.

Revenue collection in April also exceeded the adjusted target of P1.5 billion by around 50 percent or P767 million while in May, the customs bureau collected P2.2 billion from the target of P1.4 billion or around 51 percent high.

Aside from the recalibration of the monthly target collections that enabled them to exceed in the actual collection, Austria said they also gained revenues from disposing of overstaying containers.

BOC-Davao earned a total of about P18 million from its public auction in May and in June.

Its Liquidation and Billing Unit also collected P134 million from January to June 2020.

“Bisan karon nga naay pandemic and naay reduction sa trade volume, gimaximize gihapon nato ang pwede nga ma raise nato nga revenue para sa gobyerno kay karon gyud nanginahanglan ang gobyerno og revenue (We maximized whatever resources we can to raise revenue for the government because this is the time that we need it the most),” he said.

“Customs Davao shall continue to fulfill its commitment to serve the public with strengthened border security measures, ensuring proper revenue collection and uninterrupted operations despite the challenges of this pandemic,” he added.