3 cheers for Dominguez

Reassuring the public of its commitment to lowering income tax rates in the Duterte administration, incoming Finance Secretary Carlos “Sonny” Dominguez declared he is against increasing the Value Added Tax (VAT).

Dominguez also announced plans to reduce corporate and personal income taxes, which the outgoing Aquino administration has opposed proposals in Congress to lower said income tax rates.

He also proposed to upgrade tax brackets which has been unchanged for 20 years. Reforming the country’s decades-old income tax regime had become a key issue in May 9 elections.

Several congressmen had proposed that taxpayers earning P500,000 a year or less be tax exempt. Another lawmaker proposed that persons earning of P30,000 a month or less be also tax exempt.

The Philippines has the highest corporate income tax rate at 32 percent.

However, incoming Budget Secretary Benjamin Diokno had proposed increasing the VAT to fund infrastructure development.

The Finance department, headed by Cesar Purisima, has submitted a tax reform package for the next administration’s consideration, which entails an increase in the VAT rate to 14 percent from 12 percent and the expansion of the levy’s coverage to recover revenues foregone with lower income tax rates.

Dominguez said Purisima’s proposal is more of a burden to the lower-income than higher income earners. The incoming Duterte administration will consider the reduction of income tax rates as long-term investment for prodding consumption.

Ask GSIS to reduce

Vice President elect Leni Robredo is still undecided where to hold office. She finds The Coconut Palace rental too high. The solution is simple: ask Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) president Bernie Vergara to reduce the rent. GSIS should be happy with a P300,000 a month rent rather than no income from a vacant property.

Robredo has the other option of giving up the Philippine National Bank (PNB) vice presidential office since as a non-Cabinet member she will have less employees.

Duterte flights

Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) is worried about the effect of President-elect Rodrigo Duterte’s airline flights between Davao and Manila, as a way to validate his pro-poor agenda, scrimping on people’s money.

The CAAP said it will result in delayed flights because all air traffic is suspended – a quasi-emergency – for 30 minutes before the presidential plane takes off or lands, for security purposes.

“The moment the President steps in an airplane and taxi out in preparation for takeoff, all airport activities are temporarily suspended,” said CAAP Deputy Dir. Gen. Rodante Joya.

“On the other hand if the President is arriving, all aircraft operations are also suspended while the airplane is 20 miles away until he steps out of the plane,” Joya added.

Joya said he did not know what protocol will apply if the President uses a commercial plane.

Meanwhile, security experts said the President’s plan of taking daily flights from Davao City to Manila and back is risky. So when the President boards commercial flights, there would probably be several security men and women aboard without him knowing about it, according to an aviation expert.

Killings everywhere

In Zamboanga City, a 74-year-old man was beheaded. The alleged suspect is his own son, Roderico Bernardo, who also suspected stealing the victim’s money worth over P300,000.

PO3 Teddy Sacupon and P02 Efren Villamor were killed in an New People’s Army (NPA) ambush in Bulan, Sorsogon. Also dead in an NPA encounter in Baleno, Masbate was PO2 Jack Brondial.

Robert William, whose body was stuffed inside a travelling bag and dumped in Cavite Expressway, was killed by his homosexual partner, Tsai Che Yu, a Chinese national.

Mike Labay, 60, a Muslim businessman, was found dead in a motel in Ermita, Manila.

A fruit trader, Edgar Labanoria, 40, was shot eleven times by a gunman and took his bag in Tondo, Manila.

Rodenson Gardonio, 25, was shot five times by two riding-in-tandem gunmen in Navotas City.

A man’s half-burned body was found slumped in a canal in Caloocan.

Habib Into, 49, a wanted drug suspect, was killed by motorcycle-riding men in Calatrava, Negros Occidental.

Jeffrey Buencuchillo, 33, was dumped in Talisay City, Negros Occidental.

In Negros Oriental, lawyer Rex Agan Perewperew, 38, was shot dead by motorcycle-riding men.

Policemen shot dead suspected drug lord Rowen Secretoria in Getafe, Bohol.

In Iloilo City, two men, Sherwin Taasan, 38, and Lou Facto, 33, were shot dead.

Ermel Noleal Longaza, 45, a Philippine Air Force (PAF) member, was ambushed by two riding-in-tandem in Sta. Rosa, Laguna.

Chinese tourist Jason Lee stabbed to death by his friend, John Leo Tabara, in a Pasay condominium.

17-year-old Kenneth Natividad was shot dead in Barangay 63, Caloocan.

Tidbits

President-elect Rodrigo Duterte has increased the bounty for every drug lord killed to P5 million.

President-elect Duterte has warned three Philippine National Police generals in Camp Crame, allegedly involved in drugs, to resign or face humiliation. PNP chief Ricardo Marquez denied the allegation.

Incoming Finance Secretary Sonny Dominguez is against the merger of Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) and Land Bank.

Bureau of Internal Revenue Comm. Kim Henares is against the proposal to tax junk food under the Sin Tax Law. Duterte wants all mining in Mindanao to stop. The Philippine Nurses Association said 200,000 nurses are unemployed. Nurses’ salaries are low.

Incoming BIR Comm. Cesar Dulay is an Ateneo law graduate and a member of the Aquila Legis Fraternity. He served for 15 years as the Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP) commissioner on Bar Discipline.

Greetings to Fr. Jerome Secillano and Fr. Rupert Solis.