Exec cites how former colleagues became BIR bigwigs

By Mortz C. Ortigoza

CALASIAO, Pangasinan - An executive of the regional office of the Bureau of Internal Revenue recalled how officials assigned in the Ilocos Region have gone to places because of merits.

Client Support Unit Chief Lee Caday said that former BIR Region -1 Regional Director Arnel Guballa is now ensconced as Deputy Commissioner for Operation at the national office of the tax agency in Quezon City.

Deputy Commissioner for Operation Arnel Guballa

Guballa became famous on his stint in Manila as tax fraud’s buster.

He is the father of the bureau’s lethal tax law Run After Tax Evader (RATE).

At the aged of 45, he was not only the youngest regional director, but had been known to file the most tax evasion cases in the annals of the BIR.

“I was the one who introduced that when I was the chief of the National Investigation Division,” he told this writer.

 

BIR BRASS. (Clockwise above photo left) Deputy Commissioner Arnel Guballa,  Assistant Commissioner Tess Dizon, Chief Large Taxpayers Audit Division Christine Cardona, and Assistant Commissioner for Internal Revenue Beverly Milo.

According to Caday, the renovated and world class Revenue District Office-4 here has more spaces to offer to clients and personnel than its old building before, thanks to the intercession of Guballa – a Certified Public Accountant and a lawyer.

He said the prime office of the BIR in Region 1 looks like an airport lounge.

In 2014, under his leadership of revenue Region 1, the office ranked first out of 19 revenue regions in terms of performance scorecard of the Department of Finance. It ranked first on taxpayer satisfaction and compliance, as well as in improved assistance, compliance and enforcement processes.

When Rodrigo Duterte became president in June 30, 2016, BIR Commissioner Caesar Dulay appointed Guballa to be his deputy commissioner for operation. A ranked considered primus inter pares among the deputy commissioners of the tax agency.

Assistant Commissioner Tess Dizon

During the 2017 stint of Dizon in Region-1 she advised her RDOs to classify the tax payers based on their incomes.

When asked about her prognosis on the economy of the largest province in Region-1 she said:

“Oo naman it’s growing even doon sa regional GDP (Gross Domestic Product) natin growing naman talaga ang Pangasinan. But siguro we have to classify the (inaudible) taxpayers to pay their taxes based on their incomes”.

OIC Assistant Commissioner Dizon was highly respected by the RDOs in the nine cities regional office because of her firm, aggressive, proactive management style where she insisted those RDOs to hit their tax goals so she can attains her P14.3 billion target last 2017 when she was still the regional director.

“She was strict and knows the nuances how to collect more taxes,” one of the RDO chiefs told this paper.

Dizon was the former Regional Director of Cordillera Region before she was whisked to the top post in BIR Region-1.

She hailed from Pampanga.

“Maam Tess Dizon, retired na . She was replaced by Manuel Mapoy,” Caday cited.

He said that Deputy Commissioner Guballa handpicked Dizon in her last post.

Assistant Commissioner for Internal Revenue Beverly Milo

He cited that former chief of Assessment and Revenue District Office No. 6 chief in Eastern Pangasinan Beverly Milo is now the Assistant Commissioner for Internal Revenue

She used to be the Head Revenue Executive Assistant of the Large Taxpayer Service in Quezon City

Before her new appointment, she was Chief Revenue Officer IV, CORE Expert Group of the Project Management and Implementation Service in Quezon City.

When she was the RDO-6 Chief of Eastern Pangasinan, CPA-Lawyer Milo waged a battle against fixers in and out her office that victimized unwary taxpayers.

She even published a paid newspaper advertisement in Northern Watch warning the public not to transact with Perla Mondina – a suspended staff of One Time Transaction (ONETT) who gone Absent Without Leave (AWOL).

Milo said that RDOs were not liable incase taxpayers transact business with unauthorized BIR personnel, fixer, and other unscrupulous persons hanging in and out of the tax office.

“This applies also to other current employees unauthorized to receive and process documents of taxpayers. All transactions must be handled either by the ONETT officer or the officer of the day whichever is applicable. Transactions made outside of the BIR premises are considered as unofficial,” she stressed.

Chief Large Taxpayers Audit Division Christine Cardona

Caday said that former Central Pangasinan RDO-4 Chief Christine Cardona is now the Chief Large Taxpayers Audit Division.

Cardona, who was the RDO Chief in Region 8 in Eastern Visaya became RDO-4 Chief here and later whisked to Benguet with the same position.

“Then she became RDO-chief in Tarlac Province and promoted as chief of the Large Taxpayer Services in the national office,” Caday cited.

He cited that Assistant Regional Director Fely Simon had been assigned as Assistant Regional Director in the Cordillera Region while the young Assistant Regional Director Wrenolph D. Panganiban succeeded her in the regional office based here.

“Our new Assistant Regional Director is young. He was a former RDO-Chief of Baguio City and RDO-Chief of Tarlac,” Caday told this writer.

He disclosed that former Collection Chief Susan Cabanayam is now the Assistant RDO No. 1 Chief that covers Ilocos Norte Province while former Examiner of RDO-4 Marinela C. Tandoc is now the Assistant RDO-5 Chief that covers Western Pangasinan.

RDO-5 Chief is Cesar R. Balangatan.

Meanwhile, Caday said that under the tutelage of Regional Director Thelma S. Milabao the BIR continues to intensify its tax collection in the four-province Pangasinan.

“Tuloy tuloy lang ang programa natin. No new program pero ano lang siyempre e-intensify lang namin ang enforcement namin”.

Caday justified that the performances of the agency in Region-1 was laudable despite the tall order to collect the P14, 715,621,000.00 in 2019 target versus its P12, 469, 336, 932.55 collection  in 2018. It chalked up P14, 080, 505, 930.10 at the end of the 2019 fiscal year.