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Thursday, June 08, 2006
PamCham attends North Luzon Planning Session
CITY OF SAN FERNANDO --- The Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry Inc. (PCCI) recently hosted and chaired the North Luzon Area Business Conference (NLABC) Planning Session at the Floridablanca room of the Fontana Leisure Park in Clark Field.
The objective of the planning session, according to Rene Simbulan, area vice president for Northern Luzon, is to standardize and customize the hosting of the prestigious and much anticipated annual event of all the Northern Luzon Chambers, and to tackle and come up with resolutions that will be presented to the North Luzon Area Business Conference proper this coming July 7, 8, and 9 at the Joyous Resort and Restaurant in Balanga City, Bataan.
This year's conference will be hosted by the Bataan Chamber of Commerce and Industry Inc. (Baccii) ably led by its president Celso Valdecanas.
The assembly was a powerhouse of presidents from the chambers as far north as Baguio-Benguet represented by Alfonso Lao, Pangasinan by Manuel Ablan, Metro Dagupan by Salvador Duque, Isabela by Simplicio Caleon, La Union by Roberto Lim, Tarlac by Bernie Araneta, Metro Angeles by Myra Rivera, Pampanga by Levy Laus of the Pampanga Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Bataan by Celso Valdecanas, Nueva Ecija by Vicky Gaetos and Bulacan by Violeta Luna who will be along with Delfin Balajadia, regional governor of Region 1, and Nelson Yuchiongtian, regional governor of Region 2.
Simbulan requested Laus, also a member of the Advocacy Commission (AdCom) formed by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, to conduct a nationwide education and information campaign on the proposed Charter change, to provide the group with a synopsis of the AdCom's progress as well as some clarifications on certain controversial issues some groups intermittently raises in connection with the AdCom's nationwide sorties.
After the informative discourse by Laus, the body proceeded to adopt pertinent resolutions affecting business. First and foremost, the group threshed out and unanimously proposed a resolution scrapping the pernicious 70 percent cap on input value-added tax (VAT).
Laus informed the group that on May 24, he wrote a letter to PCCI president Donald Dee. The letter reiterates the appeal for the removal of this confiscatory and punitive component of the recently passed expanded VAT (e-VAT) law, which affects businesses that have slim profit margins. In conjunction with this, he also put forward the insidious five percent final withholding VAT on sales and transactions with government entities. Both of these taxes levied by the government to businesses paralyze industries with slim profit margins, like the automotive and fuel dealership trades.
Another proposition submitted to the body was the zonal valuation recently adjusted by the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) affecting Capital Gains Tax and eventually, Real Property Taxes. The increase in zonal valuation was outrageous and unacceptable. It came out during the meeting that it was not only San Fernando City, which was affected by the increase in zonal values.
In Pangasinan as well, some areas were valued at P65,000 per square meter, the same is true for Nueva Ecija. However, as Laus pointed out, while the other areas were trying to battle the issue out all on their own and sometimes butting heads with their local government officials, the case in San Fernando is astoundingly distinctive. PamCham has the cooperation and support of the city mayor as well as the governor, mainly because all three were caught unaware of the increase in zonal values of real estate properties in the province.
Other matters were in the areas of infrastructures, particularly highways and access roads that need refurbishments and reconstructions. The meeting was a fruitful one considering the number of issues and advocacies that were taken up and resolved for the betterment of doing business in the country, which would benefit not only the chamber members but the economy in general.
(June 8, 2006 issue)
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