Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, August 29) — A lawmaker said the country lost ₱82 billion in imports from China in 2017 based on discrepancies in government and World Bank data.
Senator Ping Lacson cited data from the World Bank at a Senate hearing on Thursday, saying China reported it exported $32 billion worth of products to the country in 2017.
The Philippines, however, reported it only imported $18 billion worth of products from the East Asian giant.
Lacson noted the missing $13 billion, and factoring in the 12 percent value added tax, this means the government ₱82 billion in revenues that year.
The senator then mentioned a corruption at the Bureau of Customs (BOC) which may have contributed to revenue loss.
“Itong leakages are mostly self-inflicted. Meaning may nakikinabang dito sa Customs… Tomorrow is Friday, may 3 o’clock pa ba?” he asked BOC Deputy Commissioner Edward Dy Buco, referring to a supposed system of corruption in the bureau.
[Translation: These leakages are mostly self-inflicted. Meaning someone from the Customs is benefiting… Tomorrow is Friday, does the 3 o’clock habit still exist?]
When Dy Buco said it no longer exists in the agency, Lacson said Customs Commissioner Rey Leonardo Guerrero himself admitted it was still present.
Dy Buco then said, “In some areas po siguro. But generally speaking, substantially wala na po.”
[Translation: It could in some areas, But generally speaking, substantially, it doesn’t.]
Lacson replied, “That’s the problem, most of these self-inflicted in a positive way in relation to a Customs official.”
The BOC, however, admitted that technical smuggling, such as misdeclaration of the weight or content of container vans, is still a big problem.
The Finance Department, meanwhile, said billions of pesos worth of revenue is missing due to underdeclaration in container van shipments.
Finance Undersecretary Karl Chua said, “There are more than 500 ecozones in the Philippines, all are separate Customs territory with possibly a lot of leakage. Leakage we are estimating is up to 63 billion (pesos) in 2017. There’s a combination of factors, undervaluation, tax evasion, but also some of our systems like allowing 500 econzones and lack of oversight of collection agencies contribute.”
READ: FULL TEXT: Senator Ping Lacson’s privilege speech on corruption in the Bureau of Customs
The BOC has come under fire due to alleged corruption. President Rodrigo Duterte has said he would fire Customs officials and employees linked to the issue.
