By Derco Rosal

Overall revenue collection performance of the national government is emerging weaker than the full-year target, due in part to the extended rice import ban and the suspension of Letters of Authority (LOA) issuance.

Finance Secretary Frederick D. Go told reporters last week that the four-month ban on the importation of rice has been denting the revenue collections of the Bureau of Customs (BOC)—the country’s second-largest tax agency.

“We banned the importation of rice for practically four months out of the year, which affected Customs collections and effectively shut down its operations for a significant number of days. That had an impact on overall collections,” Go said.

Commissioner Ariel Nepomuceno said earlier that the government’s foregone revenues from the rice import ban could reach as much as ₱12 billion, which translates to an average of ₱3 billion to ₱4 billion per month.

Go, meanwhile, said Customs’ performance should post a modest improvement as the Philippine peso recently plunged to its weakest-ever levels.

“There’s this odd dynamic where every time the peso depreciates, it usually results in higher customs collections, because many importations—such as fuel—are dollar-based,” Go explained.

Meanwhile, the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR)’s performance has “softened” in the latter part of the year after a robust start. However, Go stressed that the country’s main tax collection agency continued to expand on a monthly basis.

“If there’s good news, so far, December collections appear to be encouraging,” the finance chief noted.

At end-October, BIR revenues climbed 9.6 percent year-on-year to ₱2.65 trillion, driven by strong collections from key sources such as corporate and personal income taxes, value-added tax, and tobacco excise taxes.

Separately, the BOC’s collections reached ₱784.6 billion, up 0.9 percent from a year earlier, supported by a broader tax base from dutiable and non-dutiable imports, though growth was partly offset by lower duty revenues on rice following a recent import ban.

As per the national government’s quarterly fiscal program for 2025, tax authorities—BIR, BOC, and other tax offices—are tasked to collect ₱4.21 trillion by the end of the fiscal year. The government is eyeing tax revenues to account for 93.1 percent of overall revenues at ₱4.52 trillion.

Published Date: December 22, 2025