Do we have to pay a customs tax when buying from AliExpress?

I made a purchase from aliexpress about a month ago and I just picked up one of my parcels from the post office. The tracking reports from both Aliexpress and Philpost said “Import authorised. No taxes or duties to be paid.” According to the tracking history, this assessment was supposedly made after the item had been inspected by PH customs. I thought it made sense since my purchase value was just $10.00 and not of commercial quantity. However, when I went to claim the parcel from the post office. I was told by the the customs officer in the window that I still had to pay a “fixed rate” of about $2.00 despite what the customs assessment in the tracking notes. I pointed this out to the officer but he insisted that I pay. An official receipt was issued but I am still confused as to why I had to pay even though the report said I did not have to. If I had to really pay, fine but it’s the inconsistency that annoys me.