By Junex Doronio

MANILA —  Several employees of the Bureau of Customs (BOC) have expressed disappointment that they won’t be receiving the much-awaited P1.3 billion total Christmas bonus before the current year ends.

Insiders told Maharlika NuMedia that the reason why their bonuses are suddenly withheld is because they would be taxed 35 percent this year.

If they wait until next year, the tax would only be 15 percent because of “some (tax) amnesty,” the Customs insiders explained.

Earlier, they were ecstatic over the news that because of their past performance in surpassing the P584.88-billion collection target in 2018, some 3,000 regular employees of the BOC will have a bountiful “Media Noche” for the incoming New Year as they expected to receive their respective bonuses.

On Saturday (December 9) Marlon Agaceta, chief of staff of Customs Commissioner Bienvenido Rubio, said the approval and release of the bonus “took time” because the collections had to be confirmed and go through the process.

“As long as pasok sa 6-month period na dapat you are an employee, kahit na retired ka na, you will be receiving the reward,” Agaceta said in a news forum.

He added: “We are positive enough that those rewards will be distributed before the end of the year.”

But it turned out to be negative.

Maharlika NuMedia gathered that the reward, in the form of a Christmas bonus, was given to employees from way back in 2018 when BOC surpassed its P584.88-billion target.

The succeeding years after the year 2018 have yet to be accounted for, the BOC explained.

Under the LAL or Republic Act  9335, officials and employees of the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) and BOC who exceed their respective revenue targets of the year would be given incentives in proportion to their relative contribution to the aggregate amount of the excess collection.

For 12 long years, from Aquino to Duterte administrations, the LAL had been in limbo and it’s only under the administration of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. that Customs employees said they can now feel that their efforts are aptly recognized and rewarded.

(ai/mnm)