HOUSE members on Wednesday expressed their satisfaction over the current performance of the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR), vowing to provide the necessary legislative help to further strengthen the agency in generating revenues for the government.
In a press briefing at the House of Representatives, Tingog Party-list Rep. Jude Acidre reiterated the position of Speaker Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez that the House has done its part to assist the BIR, especially with the passage of the Ease of Paying Taxes Act.
“Ginagawa natin ang lahat ng makakaya natin to support BIR and its revenue collection initiatives para naman mas mapagaan itong pagbabayad natin ng buwis. Hindi man siguro sa amount na kanilang binabayaran kundi sa pamamaraan ng pagbayad ng buwis,” Acidre said, emphasizing the vital importance of government funds in ensuring the achievement of development targets.
Acidre added that House members are behind the Speaker’s stand, and gave assurance that Congress is also open to any other initiatives or policy development that may be needed to further strengthen or empower the agency in the exercise of its mandate.
1-Rider Party-list Rep. Ramon Rodrigo Gutierrez congratulated the BIR, currently headed by Commissioner Romeo Lumagui Jr., “for their increasing efforts and the effects po nung kanilang collection.”
He noted how revenue collections are central topics in the past two budget deliberations of House members with the Development Budget Coordination Committee.
“Palaging focal point po yung performance ng BIR. But with that said, yung panawagan po ng ating Speaker na mas effective po sana iyung collection, I think it can’t be helped po if they would have that call. Kasi po yung budget po natin, as much as possible, we would like to make it locally sourced. We would like to avoid yung foreign loans,” he said.
According to Gutierrez, lawmakers are calling for higher collection targets because of the need to fund development. Nonetheless, he left it to the BIR to gauge whether higher target collection is feasible.
“We have full confidence po that they will be able to deliver after all. Yun nga po iyong sinasabi po palagi natin na tax is the life blood of the state. It’s a very, very vital agency and unfortunately, it is a heavy burden that the agency must bear, the burden of having to supply our budget. Pero marami pong pangangailangan ngayon ang gobyerno. We have a lot of different programs and projects that they would wish to prioritize and palaging question dito is iyong budget spacing. So, in our own way, I suppose, ito po iyong pag suporta sa administrasyon ng ating Presidente and a heavy burden, but we are confident na very capable po ang leadership ni Attorney Lumagui,” Gutierrez said.
The government aims to collect P4.3 trillion in revenues this year. Bulk of this amount, or P3 trillion, is to be collected by the BIR.
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