MANILA, Philippines — Driven by intense enforcement at major ports and tightening border controls amidst an ongoing energy crisis, the government’s flagship anti-oil smuggling initiative has delivered record-breaking fiscal returns.The Bureau of Customs (BOC) boosted collections from its Fuel Marking Program (FMP) by nearly 15% to ₱93.11 billion during the first four months of the year.
The multi-billion-peso revenue haul reflects duties and excise taxes collected from the chemical marking of over 7.012 billion liters of fuel from January to April 2026.
While early 2026 collections showed stable, incremental growth, revenues surged dramatically in March and April as global crude oil prices skyrocketed due to escalating war conditions in the Middle East:
[Jan-Apr 2025: ₱81.14 Billion Haul] ──► Baseline Year-on-Year Enforcement Level
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▼ (The 2026 Macro Surge)
[Jan-Apr 2026: ₱93.11 Billion Haul] ◄── Represents a Sharp **14.75% Fiscal Increase**
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▼
[Total Volume Injected: 7.012 Billion Liters]
The data shows an aggressive upward curve as the BOC ramped up tracking velocity to capture high-value tax leakages:
- January: Marked fuel volume inched up by 0.3% to 1.79 billion liters, generating ₱20.86 billion in revenue (up nearly 5% year-on-year).
- February: Volume rose 17% to 1.88 billion liters, while tax collections reached ₱22.18 billion (up 7%).
- March: Fuel volume climbed 5% to 1.80 billion liters, translating to a 9% increase in collections at ₱24.92 billion.
- April: Marked volume jumped 11% to 1.53 billion liters, while collected duties and excise taxes surged by an astounding 42% to ₱25.14 billion.
Diesel continues to dominate the nation’s energy imports, making up the vast majority of the BOC’s physical marking operations. Concurrently, the agency intercepted two major maritime smuggling attempts:
[ FUEL INVENTORY & MARITIME SEIZURES ]
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┌───────────────────────────────────┴───────────────────────────────────┐
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[ REVENUE VOLUME SHARE ] [ HIGH-SEA INTERCEPTIONS ]
• **Diesel:** 3.89 billion liters marked. • **March:** Warrant of seizure issued against an unnamed
• **Gasoline:** 3.10 billion liters marked. vessel at Sangley Point, Cavite.
• **Kerosene:** 13.09 million liters marked. • **April:** Authorities boarded **MT Coral Song** in Villanueva,
Misamis Oriental, seizing 200,000 liters of unmarked diesel.
The report further illustrated that corporate compliance and importation volume remain highly concentrated among a few prominent downstream petroleum giants and regional gateways:
| Metric Category | Industry Leader / Hub | Volume Handled (Liters) | Total Volume Share (%) |
| Top Corporate Importer | Petron Corp. | 1.97 billion liters | 28.19% |
| Second Corporate Importer | Shell Pilipinas Corp. | 1.02 billion liters | 14.56% |
| Primary Entry Port | Port of Limay | 2.49 billion liters | 35.50% |
| Secondary Entry Port | Port of Batangas | 1.70 billion liters | 24.30% |
Following direct orders issued by the BOC in late March, all domestic ports have been ordered to expedite the processing of incoming fuel shipments while tightening daily field testing. By aggressively verifying that all commercial fuel carries the unique chemical marker before leaving refinery gates, tax authorities aim to insulate the national treasury from illicit black-market networks looking to exploit fluid global energy supplies.
