The “massacre” of government employees’ jobs begins now that the Supreme Court (SC) has upheld the constitutionality of the much disputed Republic Act No. 9335 or the Lateral Attrition Act of 2005, authored by Quezon Rep. Danilo E. Suarez.
BY NOEL SALES BARCELONA
Bulatlat.com
Vol. VIII, No. 30, August 31-September 6, 2008
The “massacre” of government employees’ jobs begins now that the Supreme Court (SC) has upheld the constitutionality of the much disputed Republic Act No. 9335 or the Lateral Attrition Act of 2005, authored by Quezon Rep. Danilo E. Suarez.
This was the statement of the national center for government employees, Confederation for Unity, Recognition and Advancement of Government Employees (Courage) as the effectivity of the RA 9335 will come, in full swing, because of the “landmark” decision made by the SC, upholding the constitutionality of all the provisions of the RA 9335 but nullifying its Section 12 which creates a Joint Congressional Oversight Committee to approve the implementing rules and regulations of the law.
The High Tribunal declared RA 9335 as constitutional in a ruling on Aug. 14.
Now that Finance Secretary Margarito B. Teves, the head of the Revenue Performance Evaluation Board (RPEB) created by the Attrition Act, has directed the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) and the BoC to submit the personnel lists by the end of September, the axing of “inefficient” tax collectors will now push through, said Ferdinand Gaite, Courage national president.
In a statement, Teves said that he needs the lists for the RPEB on or before Sept. 30 and said that the BIR is willing to submit earlier.
“As soon as we get the final list, taking note of the assumptions versus realities and other considerations, the RPEB will deliberate,” said Teves.
BIR Deputy Commissioner Nelson M. Aspe has reportedly assured Teves that the tax bureau’s list would be submitted in the first week of September, as he promised during the last command conference of the BIR.
Aspe also told the media that they will come up with recommendations on who should be dismissed in a month or two.
On the part of the BoC, Customs Division Chief Edna V. Barrida assured the finance secretary that the agency will fully comply with the Lateral Attrition Law.
“The lateral attrition committee of the BoC has not yet met finally to come up with the names. We are evaluating each division, sub-boards and units of all districts for their performance. We are still evaluating,” she said in a statement.
Under RA 9335, revenue officials and employees who fall short of their collection targets by at least 7.5 percent can be removed from service.
But if the revenue collections exceed the target by 30 or below, 15 percent of the excess will go to a rewards fund. If the excess collection is more than 30 percent, 15 percent of the first 30 percent and 20 percent of the remaining amount will go to the fund.
Meanwhile, Quezon Rep. Danilo E. Suarez, the law’s primary author said it was “high time” for the law’s implementation after numerous delays, adding that the Department of Finance should implement it.
The legislator also said that it is easy to identify them, those who are up for attrition, especially those who are perennially short of targets.
Trade liberalization and corruption make tax collection ineffective
However, Courage believes that that the imposition of the law will not-and will never-improve tax collections, adding that the government’s trade liberalization and deregulation policy guarantee this.
“To attract foreign direct investment (FDIs), the government gives multinational and transnational companies or corporations up to 15-year tax holidays that make it impossible to meet the revenue quota imposed by the ambitious, in the negative sense, officials of the above-mentioned institutions. Currently, imported goods enjoy five or zero percent tariff, another reason for the collections to fall,” said Ferdinand R. Gaite, Courage national president.
Pursuant to Executive Order No. 226 signed by former President Corazon C. Aquino in 1986, qualified projects, depending on which category they fall under, are granted a host of incentives, including income tax holidays, tax credits, tax and duty exemption for imported raw materials and equipment, hiring of foreign labor, exemption from contractors tax, simplified customs procedure, and other tax incentives.
The EO also assures investors the right to repatriate profits and earnings, payment of foreign loans and interests, and freedom from expropriation.
“Yearly, billions and billions of pesos of taxes are lost due to smuggling and plundering, not by syndicates but by government officials themselves,” he said.
Last year, the BIR missed its P765.9-billion ($16.647-billion) target by a little more than P54 billion ($1.173 billion) billion but will be safe from lateral attrition as an agency since it was only 7 percent behind the goal.
However, the individual collectors will still be subject to dismissal if they fell by at least 7.5 percent behind their targets.
The BoC is in trouble as it fell 7.8 percent behind the P228.2-billion ($4.957–billion) goal, collecting only P210.5 billion last year.
Last March, the BoC Employees Association (BOCEA) asked the Supreme Court to nullify the Attrition Law, saying 1,200 Customs employees including Commissioner Napoleon L. Morales himself were at the risk of losing their jobs after missing the target by P17.7 billion. They however lost the case.
