Tuesday, January 02, 2007 Tax execs snub anew, council metes action By Danilo V. Adorador III
CAGAYAN de Oro councilors, who had been too eager to give the regional head of the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) a piece of their mind, got a double whammy Wednesday when the official snubbed for the second time the City Council probe.
Nonetheless, the councilors let loose a flurry of abrasive invectives, taking turns in a chorus of harangue to decry the no-show of Mustapha Gandarosa, BIR Northern Mindanao, and his subordinate, Esther S. Palala, BIR Revenue District Officer in Cagayan de Oro.
They also declared the two BIR officials persona non-grata or unacceptable to the people of Cagayan de Oro, setting in motion the local government's campaign to have both officials uprooted from Cagayan de Oro and in the entire region and be posted elsewhere.
"For an appointed government official being declared persona-non grata means you're not needed here anymore and you should go somewhere," said Councilor Maryanne Enteria, whose report on the alleged shady compromise and corrupt practices by some of the agency's personnel prompted the inquiry.
Councilors bolstered their stance by passing two separate resolutions -- one asking President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and BIR Commissioner Jose Mario C. Buñag for the "immediate transfer and grounding" of Gandarosa Palala to the BIR national office.
Another resolution requested Malacañang, the Department of Finance, the Ombudsman and Commissioner Buñag to investigate the alleged anomalies in BIR Northern Mindanao.
All local government units (LGUs) throughout the entire country will be furnished with copies of the resolution "so that they will be forewarned on the characters of these BIR officials (Gandarosa and Palala)," said Enteria.
A BIR personnel said Gandarosa was still on-leave when this paper tried to reach him for comments.
Palala, meanwhile, had been on leave since last week and will not be back until the first working day next year, said an employee at the Revenue District Office who identified herself as Nila Valmeceña.
Palala had earlier denied that some of their personnel are preying on huge taxpayers by imposing them exorbitant tax assessment to force traders into a compromise.
Once a compromise is reached, the unscrupulous BIR personnel would then lower the original tax due -- as part of the deal -- but reflect only a smaller amount in the trader's tax payment receipts.
Another modus operandi involves unduly slapping businessmen with minor tax-related violations, then demanding an amount in exchange for letting the trader off the hook.
Ruben Vegafria, president of Cagayan de Oro Chamber of Commerce and Industry Foundation Inc. (Oro Chamber) has called on BIR to investigate the matter.
But Gandarosa's no-show at the City Council during the first scheduled probe, dismayed the business community, Vegafria said it augured the agency's indifference to look into the allegations.
While there was no official complaint lodged, he said the overwhelming talks on the alleged corrupt practices remain, and that most victimized businessmen prefer to keep silent to protect their business interest.
