By Joel E. Zurbano

THE Bureau of Customs may not meet the P317-billion revenue target set by government economists because of the recession in the country?s top trading partners, Commissioner Napoleon Morales said yesterday.

He said the bureau had already assigned how much each of the agency?s 17 collection districts across the country should remit to meet the target, but the global economic situation might prevent it from meeting the target, which is 25-percent higher than last year?s.

?If you will notice the trend, the US, China, Japan and the European Union are reeling from recession,? Morales said.

?If the crisis has hit them, what more the Philippines??

Morales said the peso?s appreciation would also have an impact on revenue targets because the assumptions of the Development and Budget Coordinating Council were off the exchange rates.

He said the economic managers assumed an exchange rate of 52 to the dollar when they made the targets, and that already translated to a revenue loss of P2.5 billion to P3 billion at the current exchange rate.

?This factor will impair government?s collection drive,? Morales said, adding exporters would also be affected.

?If no one will buy their products, how will they turn up profits??

The downsizing of the major international companies would also affect the labor sector and lead to the peso?s depreciation, Morales said.

The Manila International Container Port has the biggest assignment with P72.883 billion, or 22.99 percent of the bureau?s annual target. The Port of Manila comes in second at 20.83 percent, or P66.047 billion.

The Port of Batangas, a major port of entry for oil imports, was tasked to collect P57.997 billion, while the Port of Limay, another port of entry for Petron shipments, was given a P39.358-billion target.

The Ninoy Aquino International Airport, also considered among the major ports, was assigned P19.391-billion, while the Ports of Cebu, Cagayan de Oro, Davao, and Subic were tasked to collect P5.929 billion, P4.607 billion, P2.188 billion, and P4.997 billion, respectively.

The newly created ports of Aparri and Limay had their own independent assignments for the first time, Morales said.

The targets for the country?s smaller ports were as follows: San Fernando?P1.993 billion; Legazpi?P62 million; Iloilo?P336 million; Tacloban?P410 million; Surigao?P24 million; Zamboanga?P42 million; Clark?P897 million; and Aparri?P224 million.

Last year, Customs collected P258.977 billion, exactly P4.501 billion or 1.8 percent above its P254.476-billion target.