“So, what is going on? Is someone looking for the biggest pay-off ever before finally leaving her office on June 30?”
by Ducky Paredes
That, finally, President Arroyo will look into whether Customs should seize some P43-billion worth of planned importations by Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corp. to pay alleged tax deficiencies found by a BOC hungry for accomplishments is, indeed, strange.
What makes this story even stranger is that the First Gentleman and the First Son have both come out in the open against Shell by insisting that Shell should just shut up and pay what they owe the BOC.
Is that the official line? Because both the Department of Energy and the Bureau of Internal Revenue had come out in support of Shell’s contention that excise taxes are paid due only at the point of sale of the final product, not when the raw materials enter the country.
Strange to is that the Bureau of Internal Revenue since changed its mind. It now says that the BOC is right to seize P43 billion worth of planned importations of Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corp for February and March.
BIR Commissioner Joel Tan-Torres, in December, said imported catalytic cracked gasoline and light catalytic cracked gasoline were raw materials and, thus, not subject to excise tax at the piers
So, what is going on?
Is someone looking for the biggest pay-off ever before finally leaving her office on June 30?
This sort of official mock dance is what is driving investors from our shores. Ask yourself how many companies, which had been here forever closed down during the nine years of Gloria Arroyo?
It is as Noynoy says that what companies in the Philippines work on is having friends in high places. Because of this, we do not measure up to our competition: “While it may work locally for now, it has not enabled these players to become competitive in the world market, where the rules of the game do not take special relationships into consideration.”
The Employers’ Confederation of the Philippines, among other business organizations support Shell warn about the “chilling impact” of government’s actions on the financial operations of all companies in the country. Why is this government imposing a monetary and criminal liability with retroactive effect on enterprises that faithfully complied with existing tax policies prevailing before a sudden shift in BIR policies?
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What has happened to Nene Pimentel? During the Senate session that took up the C-5 controversy, Senator Mar Roxas in rejecting the idea that all of this investigation of Manny Villar’s conduct was purely politics, spoke up:
“My name was mentioned in the context that we were ganging up, that this was all political, that we were using insertions — when he said in a blanket statement–that there were insertions, others had insertions. Well, I say no. I have no insertion on any matter. In fact, I have no insertion, period because we were in the minority. Let alone an insertion for a road to pass through any such property.”
NENE: “Well, I’m sure that after your marriage you’ve had some insertions.
MAR: “Mr. President, I demand that that be removed from the record. That is an affront on my wife!”
What has happened to Nene? How can he still be “honorable”?
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We have letters: “Yes, a disappointed Chief Justice Concepcion stopped reporting for work as CJ on April 17, 1973, in mute and eloquent protest, following the controversial Javellana decision saying there was no longer any judicial obstacle to Proc. No. 1081 entering into force. Martial law was here to stay, for 14 years. He was not to become 70 until June 1973. His replacement was not named until six months later, as you correctly noted.
“For a week in 1982, there was not only no CJ. There was in fact no SC at all! Marcos had accepted the resignations all Justices following a bar scandal. The situation lasted for a week. All told, the times when there was no CJ stretched to years. We survived all those vacancies.
“So, where’s the fire in naming a new CJ? The new Prez, assuming we will have a new credibly-elected one on June 30, 2010, will have several weeks to pick a new one.” — Rene Saguisag
* * *
Yes, Rene, the fact of her creating an issue out of this has to raise our suspicion that there is something more in this than meets the eye. As with a lot of things about Gloria, some evil lurks somewhere that us mere mortals cannot even begin to understand or fathom. Hope you are well, my friend.
* * *
“Thank you very much for your column regarding the roads of our benighted province of Eastern Samar. It is about time that these anomalous road projects in our province must be exposed. I am a catholic priest working in California and was in my province of the holidays. When I read your column.
“I am afraid that with Cong. Coquilla being a close ally of Cng. Micky Arroyo, the funds might have been released already. Going to the north, form Borongan to Sulat, you will notice that there are already new “craters” developing because of heavy rains. This only goes to show the poor quality of work and standard used in the implementation of the project under our Hon. Congressman. The people of Eastern samara has suffered long enough form our past and present political leaders. Taman na sobra na.” — Rev. Venancio L. Amidar
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hvp 01.26.10
One Comment
Mr. Paredes, it’s very good to see a few Filipino can still intelligently evaluate national issues without thinking and insinuating that groups siding with Shell were all “paid”. I always wonder why we Filipinos, as intelligent and creative as we are, let the government get away with outright - “garapalan” violation of our human rights? When will we ever wake up and do something to uplift the status of our nation? Keep up your noble work of straitforwardly expressing your honest view. You’re doing the Lord’s work! MABUHAY ka!
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