Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III
MANILA – Instituting additional technological innovations into the Bureau of Customs (BOC) processes will increase the agency’s capacity to help boost the economy’s recovery this year.
In his speech during the BOC’s 119th founding anniversary livestreamed over PTV on Tuesday, Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III said continued modernization of BOC processes allowed the agency to meet the challenges brought about by the pandemic and enabled it to exceed its 2020 collection goal by 6 percent.
Last year, the agency’s revenues reached PHP533.88 billion, 6.49 percent higher than its revised goal of PHP501.33 billion.
This year, the agency has been tasked to collect PHP616.7 billion.
Dominguez said the pandemic resulted in the decline of trade volume, which negatively impacted BOC’s revenue generation.
He, however, said the agency, which is one of the two major revenue-generating offices of the government along with the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR), “stepped up to the plate and minimized losses by continuing its modernization initiatives to achieve a more efficient customs administration.”
“In preparation for our rapid transition to the New Economy, I urge Commissioner (Rey Leonardo) Guerrero to continue improving the Bureau’s services and incorporating more digital technologies into our processes. The more efficient the Bureau of Customs becomes, the more effective the government will be in charting the course to a strong and rapid recovery beginning this year,” he said.
Dominguez said, “the whole nation relies on the men and women of the Bureau of Customs.”
“All of you are in the frontline of our effort to build back the best possible future for the Filipino people. I trust that everyone will do their job to the greatest of their ability to achieve this goal,” he added.
Last year, BOC fully automated its frontline transactions and modernized its risk management processes despite the challenges of the virus-induced pandemic.
The agency can now fully accept online submissions through its customer care portal system, has upgraded its electronic-to-mobile (E2M) system to computerized manual processes, and now accepts online payment through PayMaya, among others. (PNA)
