Port of Manila, Zamboanga, Limay continue to perform poorly in tax collection

THE country’s premier port, the Port of Manila (POM), continues to lag in terms of revenue collection after failing to meet its assigned revenue targets since the start of the year, along with two other provincial ports out of the bureau’s 17 collection districts.

In a statement on May 13, Bureau of Customs (BOC) Commissioner Ariel F. Nepomuceno was profuse in commending the various collection districts that have surpassed their assigned targets since the start of the year and in the month April that saw a historic, record-breaking collection for the agency.

In both instances, not mentioned however, are the Port of Manila headed by Collector Rizalino Torralba, as well as the collection districts of Zamboanga and Limay under Collector Elenita Abaño and Collector Kriden Balgomera, respectively.

Among the ports that surpassed their cumulative revenue targets for the January to April 2026 period were:

Manila International Container Port (MICP) (₱78.994 billion); Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) (₱16.292 billion); Port of Batangas (₱79.615 billion); Port of Legaspi (₱1.232 billion); Port of Iloilo (₱1.447 billion); Port of Cebu (₱16.473 billion); Port of Tacloban (₱1.766 billion);

Port of Surigao (₱335 million); Port of Cagayan de Oro (₱15.750 billion); Port of Davao (₱17.730); Port of Subic (₱19.683); Port of Clark (₱1.822); and Port of Aparri (₱592 million).

Likewise, for the month of April, those which exceeded their targets were: MICP (₱20.859 billion); NAIA (₱4.399 billion); San Fernando (₱607 million); Batangas (₱20.480 billion); Iloilo (₱381 million);

Surigao (₱93 million); Cagayan de Oro (₱5.056 billion); Davao (₱5.034 billion); Subic (₱5.925 billion); Clark (₱480 million); and Aparri (₱161 million).

Commissioner Nepomuceno emphasized that the accomplishments of the majority of the collection districts reflect “not only strong collection performance but also the discipline, teamwork, and dedication of the men and women” of these ports “in carrying out their mandate to serve the Filipino people.”

“To the ports that exceeded their targets, congratulations on your outstanding performance.

“Your achievements inspire the entire Bureau to strive harder and perform better.

“Every effort matter and every port play a vital role in nation-building,” he added.

As earlier reported by Pinoy Exposé, the BOC, under the leadership of Nepomuceno, disappointed the expectations of the naysayers by harvesting more than ₱86 billion in revenue last April that pushed its collection to its highest point in nearly a decade.

Data from the Financial Service disclosed the agency generated ₱86.4 billion for the month with a surplus of P7.8 billion, 9.9 percent above its assigned target of ₱78.6 billion.

The amount is also 15.17 percent higher or ₱11.699 billion more compared to the same month last year.

The impressive revenue also pushed BOC collection for the first four months of 2026 to ₱325.806 billion, again its highest collection in nearly 10 years as the figure exceeded by 3.5 percent or ₱11.48 billion more than its assigned target of ₱314.660 billion (Pinoy Exposé, May 5, 2026).