Taxman blames limited manpower to collection woe

By Mortz C. Ortigoza

CALASIAO - One of the culprits that caused the tax collection shortfall of the Bureau of Internal Revenue in Central Pangasinan was the limited number of its personnel.

According to Revenue District Office No. 4 Office Chief Ernesto I. Mangabat, he has only 72 “warm bodies” who soldier on to collect the P4.3 billion tax goal last year.

Among the 72 personnel there are only 22 examiners not including him, Assistant RDO Chief Aldrin Camba and a Chief Collection Officer.

Examiners are those Certified Public Accountant's officials who evaluate how much a taxpayer should  pay what they owe the government.

Despite the shortfall of the P190 million to hit the P4.3 billion goal last year, Mangabat exhorted his section chiefs in a strategic planning to emulate what they had done last year to collect the new bigger revenue goal this year.

 

REGIONAL BIG WIGS of the Bureau of Internal Revenue. From left is Revenue District Office No. 4 Office Chief Ernesto I. Mangabat and RDO No. 6 Chief Helen Leaño.

“We will duplicate that as a matter of fact we extend our thanks you media practitioner (by this writer exposing tax violators at SM-Dagupan City) kaya nga sabi ko malaki ang tulong itong ginagawa ninyo. Information dissemination sa ating mga taxpayers because of their voluntary compliance also,” he said.

He was not required to explain to Regional Director Thelma S. Milabao why he had a deficit of 4.33 percent.

“From the collection in 2019 hinde na namin kailangan kasi hinde naman kami lumampas ng 7.5 percent under the Attrition Law we have to explain why you’re not able to meet your goal by 7.5 percent”.

In the amended Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) of the Republic Act 9335 or the Attrition Act of 2005, the law says that officials and employees whose revenue collection falls short of target by at least 7.5 percent would be dismissed from service, while those who exceed targets would be rewarded.

He said the 4.33 percent short was tolerable because it was hair thin before the goal of P4.33 billion.

“Magpo-fucos kami doon sa enforcement dito sa mga businesses na cover na namin dito. Operation Kandado, hindi lang sa director galing iyan sa mga higher ups sa national office. So iyan po mga pagtutuunan nila para iyan din ang susunod namin iyang Operation Kandado, tax mapping, mga POS, CRA, reading evaluation ang mga audit part na po iyan, ” Camba said

Mangabat said there were five Operation Kandado (Operation Closures) he launched last year.

Among the six Revenue District Offices (RDOs) in Region-1 only BIR’s RDO-1 in Ilocos Norte exceeded its P1,785, 049, 000.00 goal by 1.88 percent.

The other RDOs in Ilocos Sur, La Union, Central Pangasinan, Western Pangasinan, and Eastern Pangasinan turned red.

Meanwhile, a BIR source told this writer that RDO-6 that covers Eastern Pangasinan had eclipsed its February 2020 tax target.

The one city and 15 towns’ BIR office is under the tutelage of RDO Chief Helen Leaño and ARDO Chief Lolit Salayog.

Leano was the only RDO Chief that surpassed last year her target in the six RDOs in Region-1.