Purisima lauds BIR-Region 1 as highest collector nationwide

CPA-Lawyer Gubala

By Mortz C. Ortigoza

CALASIAO, Pangasinan – Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima hailed the regional director of the Bureau of Internal Revenue in Region 1 by spearheading the highest increase of tax collection effort last year vis-a-vis the other regions in the country. Attorney Arnel Guballa said that Purisima extended his plaudits to him when the latter visited him recently at his office to get an update of what he has been doing in the six revenue district offices (RDO) Region 1.

“Sabi iyan ni Secretary Purisima. Region-1 ha talagang you have the highest increase in the entire region,” Guballa rephrased what Purisima quipped to him.

Guballa said that with a tax goal of more than P7 billion given by the national government to him last year, he chalked up P7.2 billion from the P6.2 billion collections it got in 2011 in the four provinces Region 1.

 “Of al the region in the Philippines, ito ang pinakamalaking increase sa Region 1,”Guballa beamed.

In a press conference here lately to drum up the last day of filling of income tax, the regional director said the national office gave him a tall order to collect P9 billion this year.

But he said he and his personnel will soldier on with the new tax target given to him.

Guballa said that higher ups in Manila have been impressed by the series of edifices he constructed under his more than two years stint in the region.

 “Iyong Alaminos City building the most modern and beautiful BIR builds in the Philippines”. 

Guballa said he saved P10 million that he reverted in the national coffer in the construction of the tax office’s building in Alaminos.

 He cited that city mayor Hernani Braganza donated the lot when he asked for it after he learned that the late Lingayen Mayor Ernesto Castaneda was interested too to host the BIR office in his town to draw more people there.

The edifices constructed under the watch of Guballa, a former head of the National Investigation Division who architect the vaunted Run After Tax Evaders (RATE), were the all purpose gymnasium here. living quarters for BIR personnel who transact business in the regional office here but come as far as Ilocos Norte, automotive data center here, taxpayers lounge in RDO-4 where filing of taxes are done electronically.

BIR gadget deters rogue personnel not to remit taxes 

URDANETA CITY –Gone were the days where unscrupulous BIR personnel dilly-dally to remit their collection after the mobile revenue collection officers system (MRCOS) have been deployed recently all over the country.
 Attorney Beverly Milo, chief of BIR’s Revenue District Office-6 in Eastern Pangasinan, explained that the MRCOS, a wireless device, is an instrument where it automatically informed the data bank of the BIR that a tax payment on a particular day is received and has been issued with corresponding receipt on that same day.
Charmaine dela Torre, Assistant chief of RDO-4, said the MRCOS carried like a telephone by BIR collection agents outside their office is capable of issuing mobile receipts for tax payments, generating collection reports, and reconciling tax collections and tax returns. “The MRCOS is comprised of a wireless device that is connected to the Internet, and a handy printer which will allow the printing of receipt upon payment of taxes,” she said.
According to Maria Bernadette Mangaoang, assistant chief of RDO-6, the fancy gadget will be used by the collection agent of the tax office in Region 1.
 She said the MRCOS serves as a tool to collect taxes, the tax details of the taxpayers like their address, their tax information number, and the amount they are going to pay to the BIR. “Nag iisyu na kaagad ng recibo,” She quipped.
 According to Attorney Milo its advantage is collection agent no longer allowed to procrastinate not to remit their collection. “ If today is (April) 5 definitely dapat collection mo ngayon (April) 5 goes to the bank hindi ka pueding makapag recibo on (April) 6 kung walang pumapasok doon na remittance,” she stressed. Milo said before the arrival of the MRCOS stakeholders at the BIR suspected that some collection agents did not deposit immediately to the bank their collection but instead personally use them.
 “Kung kakilala mo, o ni recibo mo ngayon pero ang recibo end of the month hindi na puedi iyon”. She said the MRCOS does not only relay the amount collected from the taxpayer to the data base of the tax agency but vouch it with a record of its corresponding receipts about the real amount and the day it was paid. Meanwhile, Milo said that all official receipts and other commercial receipts sanctioned by the BIR will expire on June this year.
 She explained the wisdom behind the nullity was to discourage the non-issuance of the receipts that have been given a five-year period to be deposed by the taxpayers.
 “Basing through experiences nagagamit nila 10 years iyon pa rin. With that ang monitoring natin ngayon bakit ngayon itong taxpayer na ito ang ATT (authority to print) niya 2001 to 2012 iyan pa rin ang ginagamit niya?” she posed.
 With the impending expiration of the ATP, Milo hopes that businessmen will no longer to withhold the receipts but would be obliged to issue them every time a transaction ensued with their customers (MCO).