President Ferdinand Marcos Jr reminded employees and officials of the Bureau of Customs to put the interest of the Filipino public first as they fulfill their mandate to serve the country.

“Sa lahat ng opisyal, inspektor, at kawani, ng BOC, lagi ninyong unahin ang kapakanan ng sambayan. Gampanan ninyo ang inyong tungkulin nang buong katapatan at may malasakit sa mga Pilipino. Nakabantay ang taumbayan,” Marcos Jr. said as he led the Bureau of Customs’ 123rd founding anniversary program at the PICC.

In his speech, the President acknowledged the crucial role of the BOC in supporting the country’s economic growth, noting that the agency’s collections are used in developing infrastructure and educational programs across the country.

 “Ibig sabihin, sa tamang pagkokolekta ng taripa sa ating mga pantalan, mas mabilis ang byahe ng ating mga kababayan, magkakaroon ng sapat na kagamitan sa pag-aaral ng anak at mapapagtapos natin sa kolehiyo ang mas marami pa nating mga kabataan,” he said.

 The Philippine leader meanwhile lauded the BOC’s efforts to protect the country’s borders from economic exploitation. 

The Bureau of Customs in 2024 reported a P931.046 billion total preliminary revenue collection in 2024, up 4.6% from the P890.446 billion collected in 2023. This represents the highest collection in the BOC’s 123 year history, according to Customs Commission Bienvenido Rubio. 

The BOC last year confiscated a record P85.167 billion worth of smuggled goods from the 2,116 seizure operations conducted in 2024. This is almost double than the P43.3 billion seized in 2023. 

Among the top seized smuggled goods are tobacco, cigarettes, and vape products (worth P9.3 billion), illegal drugs (P1.9 billion), and agricultural products (P1.2 billion). Meanwhile, P94.7 million worth of unmarked fuel were seized by the BOC under the agency’s fuel marking program.  

Rubio meanwhile said that the agency’s priorities for 2025 are the digitalization of customs processes; the attainment and possible surpassing of their annual revenue collections targets; the simplification of procedures and the facilitation of secured trade; the advancement of customs efficiency and consumer protection; curbing smuggling in all forms; and the upliftment of BOC employee welfare and development.