CITY 29 AUGUST 2025 — the 2-month rice importation ban ordered earlier by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. which starts September 1, 2025 would have considerable effect on the collection target of the Bureau of Customs (BOC) port of Iloilo district office with jurisdiction in Western Visayas (Panay and Guimaras ports).
Customs District Collector Noli Santua Jr. today told HilwayNews in an exclusive interview “the 15% tariff collected from imported rice represents some 43% of total collection targets of the Customs district office.”
Santua cited data from collections in August 2024 where rice import tariffs amounted to P842 million out of the P2 billion collection target for the same month last year.
Marcos has ordered the 2-month freeze on rice importation to mitigate the slump in prices of local palay production as the months of September and October are traditional rice harvest season.
For some time the Customs district office here has leaned more on import tariffs than on export duties in terms of revenue collection. Santua noted “except for coal, we have minimal volume of products for exports” from Panay.
District Collector Noli Santua Jr. who hails from Iloilo City assumed office here August 11, 2025 following his designation by new Customs Commissioner Ariel Nepomuceno last July 31.
