Bela Padilla had an unexpected run-in with the Bureau of Customs (BOC) recently.
Apparently, she was slapped with an eyebrow-raising import tax on one of her online purchases.
The actress-writer-director was quick to message BOC via X, maintaining she was charged a hefty ₱4,600 in taxes for a shipment worth only ₱11,000.
“I used your online calculator and should only be charged ₱1,650,” she wrote, adding, “Surely, we shouldn’t pay almost half of the value of our item in taxes, no?”
Bela, who admits she regularly shops online, said she’s grown familiar with how much tax to expect. This time, though, the number was way off.
Her post quickly caught the attention of fans—until it finally reached Customs Commissioner Ariel Nepomuceno himself.
In a DZMM interview, Nepomuceno personally apologized to Bela.
“I extend my apologies to Ms. Bela and to our fellow Filipinos who’ve had this kind of unpleasant experience with the BOC. I’ve only been in the job for five weeks, and there’s a lot we need to fix,” he admitted.
The commissioner even conceded that the agency’s much-touted online tax calculator—the same one Bela relied on—is “inaccurate.”
He has since ordered it taken down because of inconsistencies that, he said, were bound to cause confusion and doubt.
As for Bela’s bill? Nepomuceno explained there was no overcharging done in bad faith, only a miscalculation compounded by missing system updates.
Bela’s candid post may just have done what countless complaints couldn’t: spark accountability, all while reminding everyone that yes, even celebrities get surprised by hidden charges at checkout.
