The Bureau of Customs – Port of Manila exceeded its P7.4 billion revenue target for the month of January by more than P143 million, District Collector Rhea Gregorio said on Sunday.
"The PoM surpassed its January target of P7.44 billion with a total collection of P7.59 billion, a surplus of 1.92 percent or P143 million. This is a great way to start a year," said Gregorio.
It was also under the time of Collector Gregorio in 2017 that Manila last exceeded its January target.
The total amount of import duties and taxes collected by Port of Manila last month were up by P1.79 billion from P5.8 billion a year ago.
Gregorio said the PoM’s collections in January were at surplus due to "strict implementation and fair application of laws, rules, and regulation and identifying overlaps and redundancies that causes red tape and avoidable delays."
She added last month’s higher collections also came on the back of the support and cooperation of all stakeholders and hardworking PoM personnel.
"All the collecting offices and subports under Port of Manila worked together to achieve our target for January," Gregorio said.
"Other factors would be an increased coordination and efficiency from all offices within the Port of Manila, and of course the confidence and support from the Office of the Commissioner," she added.
The Manila port had recorded revenue shortfalls in 2018 until Customs Commissioner Rey Leonardo Guerrero assigned Gregorio to the top post.
She was the district collector of Subic port from September to December last year.
During her four-month stint in Subic, Gregorio led the port to achieve an all-time high for its annual collections of P22.4 billion or a surplus of P1.3 billion.
Gregorio took her oath of office in Port of Manila before Commissioner Guerrero on Jan. 7. She replaced Collector Erastus Sandino Austria, who was transferred to the Manila International Container Port.
Both PoM and MICP are two of the biggest and so-called "billionaire ports" of the bureau.
Collector Maritess Martin, on the other hand, replaced Gregorio in Port of Subic.
Customs officials said the agency has regained the trust and confidence of stakeholders, thus, its collections continue to rise in line with its fiscal and administrative policies.
