Why the Greed of these B.I.R Executives

By Mortz C. Ortigoza

Before I delve how corrupt the taxman is, here’s the first stanza of my favorite Beatles’ lead guitar man George Harrison who composed and sang “Taxman”:

Let me tell you how it will be
There's one for you, nineteen for me
'Cause I'm the taxman, yeah, I'm the taxman

I had a high spirited exchanges with an executive of the Bureau of Internal Revenue about the spate of kidnapping of the high officials of one of the most corrupt public offices in the country where no one among them victims, susmariosep, report the abduction to the cops.

“Pati si Senator Bato (Ronald dela Rosa) who was a former chief of the national police told the reporters at the chamber of the senate that the non-reporting had been an old issue,” I told the tax brass at a huddle with him in his office.

“Oo, ang isang sistema pa diyan sa Metro Manila, the kidnappers will just call the BIR officials and told them that we know where your kids’ schools, your wife’s workplace etcetera” then padala na lang nila ang pera tens of millions without reporting sa police,” he confided to me how some kidnappings remain non consummated because of the instant payment from the shaken BIR officials.

MULCT - Chief Assessment Officer Alfredo Pagdilao Jr., 58, (extreme right) and Examiner Agripina Vallestero, 61 of the Bureau of Internal Revenue in Pasig City shamefully covered their faces after they were entrapped by the operatives of the National Bureau of Investigation with a P75 million  they mulct lately from Vivo Cellular Phone Company. The duo charged Vivo of irreconcilable tax payments. Photo Credit: Pilipino Ngayon

He explained that the non-reporting to the police was the wisest move because the source of a one hundred million pesos’ ransom could be questioned by anti-graft crusaders and the media that will put into bind these thieves in coats whose rank hail from Deputy Commissioner, Regional and Assistant Regional Director, Revenue District Officer and his or her assistant, Chief Assessment Officer and the wards' revenue officers or examiners he supervises.

News reports lately said policemen swooped various locations in Caloocan City, Marilao and San Jose del Monte in Bulacan to hide outs of these kidnappers.

It even killed in Marilao, Bulacan a certain Leo dela Fuente, 41, resident of Barangay Socorro in Quezon City, arrested four others, and confiscated during the raid eight firearms,  including two M16 rifles, a hand grenade, three vehicles, uniforms ,and other police accessories.
National Capital Region Police Office Chief Major General Guillermo Eleazar cited the syndicate, who were active and sacked members of the  police and military, used the fake police uniform to accost the victims by telling them they committed infractions as part of their modus to kidnap them.

I told him about how corrupt those Imperial Manila based brass of the BIR Revenue District Office in Pasig City when two of them were entrapped by the enforcers of the National Bureau of Investigation in a hotel last July 20 after they gouged out almost a hundred of million pesos from a phone company.

“Vivo iyon at ang involved doon ay ang chief collection of assessment at ang kanyang examiner,” the BIR executive exclaimed to me.

 Chief Assessment Officer Alfredo Pagdilao Jr., 58, and Revenue Officer Agripina Vallestero, 61, insisted that Vivo Cellular Phone Company pays 1.6 billion in taxes. When the company's officials reasoned out that their tax lawyers’ advice them that they did not owe the government that amount the malefactors settle for the P160 million.

But a Presidential Anti-Corruption Commission (PACC) officer posed as the company executive haggled with the insistent BIR officials for P75 million plus ten units of the company’s made mobile phones where he will deliver them to their hotel's room somewhere in Pasig City.

Pagdilao Jr.,Vallestero, Rufo Ranario and Michelle Dela Torre were charged with violation of Republic Act 7080 (Anti-Plunder Law), RA 3019 (Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act), and for robbery through intimidation in violation of the Revised Penal Code.

My source said that the chief of assessment should not be there in the first place because his position was swivel - chair like the RDO and Assistant RDO.

“Andoon iyon kasi gustong solohin iyong Php75 million against his bosses sa RDO Pasig,” he told me.

When I cited to him that he and those top brass in Region -1 are vulnerable to kidnappers who shanghaied BIR officials, he said despite their having no bodyguards kidnappers knew they are not as big time as those in Metro Manila.

I butted in that when I interviewed in 2018 Region -7 Regional Director Marina de Guzman, she crowed to me at her swanky top floor office nestled at Fisher Mall in Quezon City that her Cubao, Quezon City’s revenue district office alone eclipsed the collection of Regions 1, and 2.

This what I wrote in March 1, 2019:

“My smallest district there had a goal of a region,” she told this writer.

She referred to the RDO in Cubao, Quezon City that had a goal of P50 billion last year.

BIR Region No. 1, that oversees Ilocos Norte, Ilocos Sur, La Union, and Pangasinan, had a tax target of P17, 646,987,000.00 last year.

This year it has a tax goal of P19.8 billion according to Revenue District Office – 3 Chief Chum dela Torre.

Region No. 2 based in Tuguegarao, Cagayan had a lower tax goal than BIR Region No. 1.

For this writer, the collection of RDO in Cubao could probably surpass even if we juxtaposed BIR Region No. 3 in Central Luzon with the two BIR Regions I mentioned.

De Guzman cited that Pasig, the biggest RDO of BIR Region 7, had a goal of almost P100 billion last year”.

Based on my exchanges with Director de Guzman, I told the amiable BIR executive:

 “So even an RDO in Cubao is way lower in rank compared to the regional director of a northern Luzon region, the former can swagger because aside from his collection he got hundreds of millions of grease monies from taxpayers of course with the intercession of his examiners?” I posed.

The top tax official chuckled to my poser.

For many readers who do not know how corruption molds a young passer of a Certified Public Accountant at the BIR, here’s a summary from a narration of a conscience stricken examiner who left the agency because he could not stomach the corruption and avarice there participated by her, her superiors, and the conspiring taxpayers at the expense of Filipino people whose tax monies if not stolen should better off the lives of the the great unwashed.

NBI agents conduct an entrapment operation and arrest Bureau of Internal Revenue investigators Arturo Buniol, Gary Atanacio, and Edgardo Javier. Photo Credit: Rappler.com

“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, and directors can claim that he was never been involved in this scheme. 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 letters of investigation issued by the BIR, although the
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 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

Examiners and group supervisors quarrel for LA. Each lobbies, some even make advance payment to their RDO just to get the taxpayer they desire to audit.

The LA is assigned to the examiners with a group supervisor. An examiner can have several LA at the same time, more or less ten (10) LAs per examiner depending on the number of examiners in a district. A group supervisor can have more than one group of examiners. The transaction is straightforward and simple. The audit is conducted by the examiners. The findings are presented to the taxpayers, often with the supervisor. The taxpayer arrange schedule with the supervisors to discuss the settlement which includes the amount to be shown on the receipt and the amount that goes for the boys—the bribe money. The supervisor discusses the settlement with the RDO. If approved, the payment form is prepared signed by the RDO and the taxpayer pays with the bank. The taxpayer returns to the supervisor and with him are the payment form and the money for the boys. In some cases the taxpayer just gives the whole amount to the examiner or supervisor and let them pay with the bank. The revenue officer will just send the original copy of the payment form to the taxpayer after payment with the bank The supervisor divides the money among himself, the examiners, and the RDO. The RDO divides the money given to him by the supervisor. He gives to the assistant RDO and to the director. And finally, the Director distributes the money to the commissioners of his choice. These are the common scenarios that you would see almost every day at the BIR”.

 (Clickfull article of this examiner’s full narration.

As what rock singer Harrison belted about greed of the taxman:

Let me tell you how it will be
There's one for you, nineteen for me
'Cause I'm the taxman, yeah, I'm the taxman

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