How dirty monies exchanged hands at the B.I.R

                              REPRINTED FROM TODAY IN MANILA 

                             Article by a disgusted Tax Examiner

The issue I am raising is bigger than PDAF. It’s about the corruption in the BIR. Indeed, corruption through PDAF is just the tip of the iceberg. I would like to share how corruption works at the BIR. I want everybody to understand and feel its gravity to our life. This is bigger than PDAF because the accumulated amount is enormous. Continuous pain is worst than short time severe pain.

Voluntary payments, withholding taxes, and investigation of taxpayers—these are the ways of collecting taxes by the BIR. An example of voluntary payment is the filing of an annual income tax return. This is the one we rush to pay every April 15. Withholding tax on compensation—deducted by the employers from the employees together with the pag-ibig, sss, and other deductions monthly—is an example of a withholding tax. The case of Manny Pacquiao is an example of audit of taxpayer.
Corruption transpires during the investigation of businesses by the revenue officers. Examiners, supervisors (assessment section), assistant RDO, Revenue District Officers (RDO), Directors, and some commissioners—these are the specific revenue officers involved to the scheme. No examiners, supervisors, RDOs, & Directors can claim that he was never been involved in this scheme. Is there any policeman who has never touched a gun? Is there any fisherman who has never tasted the fresh or sea water? Every year the BIR conducts tax examinations to most business establishments. Initially, the BIR issues letter of investigation.
Letter of Authority (L.A.), Tax Verification Notice (T.V.N.), and Letter Notice (L.N.)—these are the letter of investigations issued by the BIR, although the L.N. is not actually used for thorough investigation. The LA is used for regular audit. The TVN is used when LA is inappropriate. This includes closure of small businesses. Another used of TVN is when transferring the ownership of real property by inheritance.
The LN is used for some circumstances. When the BIR found a discrepancy between the information submitted by a taxpayer and the information gathered by the BIR from another taxpayer outside the formal audit, an LN is issued. This happens usually between a distributor and a whole seller. Both of them submit information to the BIR. Considering their relationship, the former being the buyer and the latter being the seller, the information are compared based on the records submitted to the BIR. Any discrepancy will lead to the issuance of LN. As a consequence, the taxpayer can pay the tax if he agrees; otherwise, he can explain why such discrepancy occurred.
The main source of corruption is the LA because this is the normal way of authorizing the audit. In the eyes of the revenue officers, LA means money. With LA, revenue officers are like stockholders of every corporation. In some case, when a revenue officer received a LA, he is already borrowing money for casino because he is sure that on or before 120 days he has money, specifically from that LA.

The House Speaker and I on Ali

By Mortz C. Ortigoza

 If Larry Henares and Tony Abaya molded my political and economic thinking during my younger days, former Five-Time Speaker Joe de Venecia’s rabble rousing spiels intrigues me no end since I want to emulate it.
If evangelicals applause and stomp their feet every time a Jimmy Swaggart- like- preachers emphasized a point in a sermon, JDV’s gift of gab – he sprinkled with his wide knowledge of international politics – electrify the ho-polloi as they reciprocate it with their incessant round of applause .
I was mesmerized by JDV’s verbal spiel, I could listen to him for hours unlike the minutes I could afford to our boring Baptist pastor nearby.
Geez, its sheer entertainment!
“Eleksiyon angapoy eleksiyon, yog -yog angapoy yog-yog, delap angapoy delap wadya ak para silbi-an kayo! (Election or no election, earthquake or no earthquake, flood or no flood, I am here ready to serve all of you my constituents,” is one of his “ding-dong” verbal magic that captivates and endears him to the crowd.
The other one is an analogy of his distinct two liners where the second sentence he punctuated emphatically that turned the masses, even those at the boondocks of his congressional district, erupt:
“I will be giving 90 diesel powered water pumps now! I will be giving 900 diesel powered water pumps next time!!!”
If the world in the 20th Century have witnessed the declamation prowess’s of Adolf Hitler at the Reich-stag and Winston Churchill “ Never Surrender “ at the House of Commons, the 21st Century has its Joe de Venecia who not only enthralled the Filipinos at the podium of the August Chamber when he was five-time speaker, but wowed those wide-eyed foreign dignitaries (who are members of either the International Conference of (All) Asian Political Parties he co founded and co-chairs , or the Centrist Asia Pacific Democrats International where he is the president) of his exceptional verbal talent.

XXX

The last time I publicly discussed Muhammad Ali was in June 5 when Bombo Radyo-Koronadal called me at my hotel room in Iloilo City.

HISTORICAL PHOTO ‘I shook up the world!!!’ Cassius Clay (later named Muhammad Ali)   repeatedly screamed after knocking out  world heavy weight champ and KO artist Sonny  Liston 52 years ago.

Here was my post at Face Book on that conversation: “I was in my hotel at dusk when an anchorman from Bombo called me to get my take on the death yesterday of "boxing's greatest" Muhammad Ali. With some humors I explained how the wife of Joe Luis and Ali's boxing rival Sonny Liston were bewildered about Ali's sanity when he kept shouting and bragging as he faced knock out puncher, ex- convict, and world champion Liston.  I told Bombo about Ali's "genius" fight like rope-a-dope against favorite pug George Foreman (he knocked out in two round most of his opponents) in the "Rumble of the Jungle" in Africa, his three fights with bitter rival Joe Frazier that was concluded in the death defying "Thrilla in Manila” by defeating the "Gorilla Frazier " who was told by his trainer before the start of the 15 round that the fight was off since he could no longer see anymore, and others.
When the anchorman asked me to compare Ali to Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao. I told him in ilonggo the showboat and loquacious Mayweather could not be at the class of Ali. "Mayweather has the propensity to select his opponents and Manny Pacquiao has the propensity to quote Bible verses like Bersekulo Baso kapitolo E.S.Q whenever he meets the media.”

 One of my unforgettable thoughts about Ali was when I asked former Speaker Jose de Venecia if he liked Ali.

WANNABE. Wannabe boxing anal-list, er, analyst Mortz Ortigoza mimics Ali's
famous scream after knocking -out Sonny Liston with an effeminate Philippine aswang (witch).

“Yes, I even watched him fight in the “Rumble in the Jungle” in Zaire ( now Congo, Africa),” the Speaker, in his Marlon Brando's God Father movie voice, although in a faster pace, told me with a tinged of excitement on that event in 1974.

 “Geez sir that was a classic match, Ali’s defining moment. Foreman punched probably stronger than (Mike) Tyson.  Have you seen Joe Frazier’s feet were lifted by a foot from the canvas when he (Foreman) hit him with an upper cut on the chin and brought him to dream land in the second round? Frazier was knocked down six times before that knocked out,” I emphatically narrated to the Speaker who relished it as they were punctuated by my punches – just like when I mimic to him earlier Winston Churchill’s “Never Surrender” speech after Germany’s Adolf Hitler trained his military juggernaut to Great Britain.

Why Dagupenos should envy Iloilo City

By Mortz C. Ortigoza

“Iloilo City has left Dagupan City by countless miles in progress,” I told last week my elementary classmate as I sipped my latte at Starbucks in Manduriao, Iloilo City by pointing the overlooking world class ten lanes complete with gardens and bicycle lanes' Benigno Aquino Avenue or commonly called the Diversion Road.

ILOILO CITY. Economically bursting  world class Benigno Aquino Avenue
 in Iloilo City. Look at the eight lanes highway, the two bicycle lanes and the
 gardens.

Just like the vision in Dagupan, three growth centers have been carved-out in Iloilo that became a linchpin for her economic mega growth that experts compared her now to Cebu and Manila.

“Iloilo had done these economic leaps for the past several years while the anti-progress vice mayor and councilors in Dagupan procrastinate since 2014 to approve the revised Comprehensive Land Use Plan (CLUP) (the old CLUP was created, susmariosep, in 1978),” I told Mayor Belen Fernandez and Councilors Netu Tamayo, Jigs Seen, Alvin Coquiao, and Marcelino Fernandez, the last two kept nodding their heads in agreement, in a press conference called by the Mayor last Wednesday after the CLUP was approved by the City Council.

Its approval however was tainted by acrimonious debate, disparaging accusation,  and illegal adjournment by Vice Mayor Brian Lim and his three councilors’ allies.

I told them that Iloilo has new triangular economic hubs in Kapideco (Ayala Project) Estates, SM Properties, and the Megaworld Iloilo Business Park.

These billions of pesos investments draw thousands of Ilonggos as call center agents and other workers in the malls, townhouses, restaurants, hotels other companies there.

The call centers, according to Wikipidea, source-out their employees from the countless universities and colleges there.

DAGUPAN CITY. The almost business empty four lanes'
Jose de Venecia Highway Extension.

Workers in Dagupan City and the huge almost three million populated Pangasinan province have to find jobs in the congested Imperial Manila because leaders in Pangasinan, except Mayor Fernandez, could not decide how to provide employment for them.

I told the mayor that to enlighten our officials and people in the city about our being a “pariah” is to send somebody to Iloilo City to document and video it and show to her family owned widely subscribe cable TV the chutzpah made by leaders there for us to follow if not envy it.

“Para magising at maingit tayo sa katotohanan na because of parochial thinking naiwanan na tayo ng ibang siyudad,” I stressed.

Here are some excerpts from Wikipedia about the ballyhooed Iloilo City’s economic "miracle" :

“Underground provisions for public utilities such as electricity, water, telephone lines had been provided, thus finally removing the spaghetti wires along the stretch of Diversion Road. The project included additional three pedestrian overpasses, a footbridge across Dungon Creek, jogging and biking lanes, and a beautiful landscape”

Projects, cut reasons why congressmen turncoat

By Mortz C. Ortigoza

ILOILO CITY - Many reelected mayors in the concluded May 9 election lost their bid.

“The loss was a huge slapped on the face of these politicians,” an incumbent Mayor, who served his first class town for more than 20 years, told me.

He cited that a sitting mayor of a burgeoning town receives more than a million pesos a month of payola from illegal number game’s jueteng and other forms of gambling, millions of pesos S.O.P (euphemism of 20 percent or cut) from government projects and supplies sold by the contractors to the municipal government, while his opponent spends to defeat him in the election by using his personal monies.

JUMP SHIP. Congressmen from various political parties took their oath of allegiance to presumptive 17^th Congress House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez and his and President-Elect Rodrigo Duterte’s PDP-Laban Party. PHOTO CREDIT: Rappler

Recent news reports said that outgoing House Speaker Sonny Belmonte was disappointed about the mass defection of the members of the once vaunted Liberal Party.  Just weeks after the May 9, 2016 poll, these solons swear allegiance to the Partido Demokrito Pilipino- Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban) of President-elect Rody Duterte.

Many of them fought tooth, gum, and nail for the presidential victory of Mar Roxas who helped them get projects from the Palace.

Now they unabashedly sing hosannas to Duterte forgetting that weeks ago they were flirting with Roxas as if he was the best "thing" that happened in their lives.

Was this bad taste in the mouth?  

Yes, if you have halitosis or bad breath, but congressmen chart their reelection by intervening thru his or her connection with Malacanang on the number of multi-million pesos’ projects and the millions of pesos the national government can give to his or her district.

In each of that projects he or she can pocket through the 20 percent or more S.O.P like those farm-to-market roads  by the Departments of Agriculture and Agrarian Reform or concrete road pavement or elevation pavement of highway done by the Department of Public Works & Highway.

Thanks to the moro-moro played by their favorite private contractors who rigged the bidding to overprice it so they can stash away a big chunk of public monies. (Read here my previous article how government officials rob the coffer, by clicking How contractor profits from gov't project).

For those who read this column on the hard copy of our newspaper, here are some excerpts of that topic:

“He said in a P28 million gravelling of roads, the Palace connected guy who interceded for the project in the province gets 10%, the district Congressman who identified the place of the infrastructure gets 5% from the worth of the project.

“Mga P15 million ang kita ko diyan sa project,” a contractor whispered to me when I asked him how much he earned from it.

“Tubong lugaw,” ang raket na napasok ninyo,” I told him after I mentally calculated that the government and the public get only P8.8 million after P2.8 million goes to the Palace’s connection, P1.4 million goes to the congressman, and the P15 million profits he pocketed.

 I believed what this Contractor told me.

 In the past, a Mayor who was a contractor told me the anatomy of the two-third of the government monies that went to the pocket of the contractor and government officials.

 He cited a P3 million fund for re-gravelling of road from the national government in a town in a Congressional District of Pangasinan. The mayor asked him how much he would give him in case he (Mayor) asks for his service.

“I give you P1 million.” The grateful town executive shook his hand for the conclusion of the negotiation.
My contractor pal told me he got the P1 million for himself, while the remaining P1 million was deducted by P100 thousand for the municipal engineer who certified that the substandard project was above board, an average of P5 thousand to each of the barangay captains whose jurisdiction were beneficiaries of the project.

 “Iyong re-gravelling ang contractor spends only less than 30 percent of the total amount (It means less than P900 thousand from the P3 million budget that goes to the Filipinos - MCO),” he told me."

***

Now that Bayambang, Pangasinan mayoralty elect Cesar Quiambao gears to assume office at noon of June 30, I am curious to see what happen to a media practitioner who was an avid apologist and rah- rah person of former mayor Ricardo Camacho.

A few days before the May 9 election, I bumped into Quiambao’s Man Friday Levin Uy, former councilor and Director of Quiambao’s Kasama Kita sa Barangay Foundation (KKBF), and PR man Jessie Perez in a coffee house in Dagupan City.

They told me that they want to see this person, who sow intrigued against them during the Camacho’s heydays, yank-out from the media circle of the new mayor.

Reports say that this practitioner had been heaping praises and plaudits to Quiambao.

 

(You can read my selected columns at http://mortzortigoza.blogspot.com and articles at Pangasinan News Aro. You can send comments too attotomortz@yahoo.com)

Cayetano qualified to be Senate Prexy – JDV

By Mortz C. Ortigoza

QUEZON CITY- A veteran national politician said that Senator Alan Peter Cayetano  is suited for the Senate Presidency.

Senate Majority Floor Leader Alan Peter Cayetano exhorts
members of the Senate. PHOTO CREDIT. rappler. com

 “Puwede, puwede (He is qualified),” said recently by former five-time Speaker Jose de Venecia, the power behind the vaunted Rainbow Coalition of congressmen in the former Ramos Administration.

Known as JDV, he said in a social function here that Cayetano, who was the vice presidential tandem of President – Elect Rodrigo Duterte, can wiggle to the senate presidency through his ability and the influences of Duterte to the members of the 24-man August Chamber.

“It depends upon your ability to mobilize strategic intra-party quantities,” he stressed.

The former Speaker agreed that Duterte’s support will have a say for the senator’s choice of their top whip when the Senate convenes on July this year.
"He has a definite say".
The president-elect in his recent media interviews disclosed that he was hands off on the selection for the senate's top man.

Cayetano, a member of the Nationalista Party, recently said that 15 members of the Senate already signified their commitment to support him.

De Venecia opens to help Duterte on Ph-China rows

Philippine former 5-Time House Speaker Jose de Venecia, founding chairman of the International Conference of Asian Political Parties (ICAPP) that represent more than 340 political parties, met in Manila with  Northern Watch Newspaper’s political columnist Mortz C. Ortigoza to discuss U.S President Barrack Obama’s phone call to Philippine President-Elect Rodrigo Duterte on the South China Sea’s row, immediate bilateral talks with the Chinese, his intercession for China, Vietnam, and the Philippines that signed a seismic and geological test, and joint exploration, excerpts:

Jose de Venecia Jr, Founding Chairman of International Conference of Asian Political Parties (ICAPP), speaks during a signing ceremony with the foreign members of the group.

MORTZ C. ORTIGOZA: U.S President Obama called President – Elect Duterte to wait for the decision of the (United Nation) arbitration (tribunal in The Hague). The Philippine president answered that if the situation still goes in still water he would go for bilateral talks with the Chinese. I know you advocated that talk, what’s your take then?

JOSE DE VENECIA (JDV): If the talks are at the level of the Arbitration Panel, we could continue. Anyway, it should be in the few weeks from now but then the bilateral talks at the informal level should begin immediately.

 Begin immediately?

 At the informal level.

 Was Obama correct when he told Duterte to wait first for the decision of the Tribunal?

 The formal way, the formal way because the informal level can be (through) back channeling. But that channeling could not wait.

Panelo’s tattered jeans, shiny black boots

By Mortz C. Ortigoza

During the recent joint victory party of incoming Congressman Toff de Venecia (4^th District, Pangasinan) and cousin presumptive Rep. Edward Maceda (4^th District, Manila) at the family owned Sampaguita Gardens in Valencia Street Quezon City, I met incoming president Rodrigo Duterte’s double - header presidential spokesman and press secretary Salvador Panelo.

JEANS, BOOTS. Incoming Press Secretary Sal Panelo and his ripped
 jeans and shinny black Italian boots. PHOTO CREDIT: Politics.com

“What’s your take on the adverse pronouncement of Mon Tulfo about you?” I posed to the outrageously sartorial buff and high rollers’ lawyer.

To the unfamiliar,  Tulfo’s recent column  at the Philippine Daily Inquirer trained his gun on Panelo and Mark Villar’s appointment as secretary of the Department of Public Works & Highway.

The feisty columnist cited the appointments of the duo were not evaluated thoroughly by the presumptive president.

Tulfo said Panelo, lawyer of mass murderer of mostly media men Andal Ampatuan, Jr., is adversarial to the press, both in countenance and demeanor.

“First, a presidential spokesperson should be pleasant-looking because he’s called upon to talk to reporters in front of the TV camera.

Second, Panelo’s antics and the outlandish knickknacks he wears on his person will make him a laughingstock which will reflect on Duterte.

Digong should rethink his decision if he wants to get along with the press in the vital first six months of his administration,” Tulfo wrote.