CUSTOMS TURNS IN ₱9.3 BILLION SURPLUS, DEFIES ECONOMIC CHALLENGES

As agency draws inspiration from Commissioner Nepomuceno’s leadership

On Jun 9, 2026

INCREDIBLE! Bureau of Customs Commissioner Ariel F. Nepomuceno delivers the agency's historic, record-breaking revenue collection despite being less than one year in office and while the country is facing an economic crisis due to the war in the Middle East (photo: BOC-PIAD).

THE Bureau of Customs (BOC) under Commissioner Ariel F. Nepomuceno continues to defy the challenges to the economy as the war in the Middle East continues with businesses under great stress after the agency registered ₱9.3 billion in surplus collection for the first five months of the year.

Drawing instead from the inspired leadership of Commissioner Nepomuceno that is focused on integrity, accountability and modernization (IAM) and his ‘leadership by example,’ the agency brushed aside the slight 2.1 percent decline in tax collection for the month of May after collecting ₱80.664 billion, which is ₱1.726 billion below target.

Still, the figure is 6.62 percent higher or ₱5.007 billion more compared to the ₱75.657 billion the BOC collected for the same month last year during the term of Commissioner Bienvenido Rubio.

The agency attributed the minimal shortfall to the reduced import volumes of oil and non-oil commodities, as well as the implementation of Executive Order No. 114, s. 2026, which temporarily suspended excise taxes on selected petroleum products to help ease the burden to the public of the current high oil prices.

Overall, official data showed that in the first five months of 2026, the BOC exceeded its target of ₱397.050 billion fir a positive deviation of 2.3 percent.

The figure also represents an increase of ₱24.629 billion, or 6.5 percent, compared to collections recorded during the same period in 2025.

The shortfall last month was also more than compensated by the historic and record-breaking tax collection registered by the BOC last April (Pinoy Exposé, May 5, 2026).

“Ang mahigit ₱9 bilyong surplus na naitala natin ay patunay na kapag nagtutulungan tayo at ginagawa natin nang tama ang ating trabaho, may malaking ambag tayo sa pag-unlad ng bansa,” Commissioner Ariel F. Nepomuceno said.

He emphasized that every peso the collect helps fund essential government programs and services that directly benefit the Filipino people.

The agency attributed its positive performance primarily to improved valuation and enhanced revenue collection measures, which helped offset the impact of lower import volumes during the period.

Aware of the many challenges facing the country, the economy and the business sector, Commissioner Nepomuceno launched various initiatives and fast tracked the implementation of pending programs aimed at easing the cost of doing business and gaining the support of the agency’s many stakeholders.

These include lengthening to three years from one year the registration period of exporters, importers and customs brokers, speeding up the release and turnaround time for haulers and containerized cargos and stronger partnership with local and international organizations aimed at speeding up the complete digitization of the agency’s systems and processes.

Early this month, Commissioner Nepomuceno said they expect to launch the ‘electronic airwaybil’l (e-AWB) program by this year that also aims to help boost the country’s export sector while supporting his complete digitization program for the agency (Pinoy Exposé, June 7, 2026).