“This is not the way to treat billion-dollar investors. Why is it so difficult for the BOC to just wait for the CTA and the Courts to rule with finality on the matter?”
by Ducky Paredes
The Bureau of Customs (BOC) is trying to get the four other big oil industry players on its side in the disagreement between the BOC and Shell over what the BOC sees as Shell’s owed taxes for importations on which the BOC did not collect taxes because, at that time, the procedure was that these taxes would be paid only when the goods are finally sold.
The BOC has promised Ramon Ang, Petron chair; Ernst Wanten, president of Total Philippines, Randy Jhonson, country chairman of Chevron, and; Siripong Phoungpaka, president of PTT Philippines that it will speedily release their imports upon their arrival.
What Customs Commissioner Napoleon Morales wants to avoid is what Pilipinas Shell foresees should BOC go through with its threat of seizing the incoming importations of Pilipinas Shell. Thus, he wants them to increase their importations in the first half of the year to take up the slack in the event that his planned seizure of Shell’s imports results in an oil shortage.
Frankly, I do not see the other four playing in the BOC’s court. They would be foolish to do so since this will only encourage the BOC, and the government as a whole, to deal with the oil companies even more high-handedly.
A more prudent BOC Commissioner would wait for the courts, Court of Tax Appeals and the Supreme Court to rule on the matter before seizing anything. After all, Pilipinas Shell is not going anywhere unless the government makes it clear to them that they are no longer welcome to do business in this country.
Certainly, that is not the role of the Customs Commissioner. He does not decide who can and cannot invest in this country and when someone has invested, then, there are processes to be followed before they can be driven out of the Philippines.
A Customs Commissioner who is so quick on the trigger is not doing this country any good.
Imagine that the BOC has also written Royal Dutch Shell, the Anglo-Dutch Mother Company of Pilipinas Shell, asking it to investigate the subsidiary for contesting the P7.3 billion excise tax deficiency slapped on its imports of blending gasoline.
John Simon, head of BOC’s International Affairs Office, sent a letter addressed to Royal Dutch Shell chairman Jorma Ollila and chief executive Joroen can der Veer:
“We realize that the Shell Group upholds the highest standard of honesty and integrity in conducting its business and requires its subsidiaries and affiliates to act in a socially responsible manner within the laws of country which they operate in the pursuit of legitimate commercial objectives. We are concerned that responsible officers of Pilipinas Shell may have violated the foregoing principles in their earnest desire to reduce duty and tax payments.
“If such allegations were true, they should not be tolerated, given the company’s global reputation and stature.”
This letter may well be the one thing that will convince Royal Dutch Shell to bring out its long-delayed timetable for finally leaving the Philippines!
This is not the way to treat billion-dollar investors. Why is it so difficult for the BOC to just wait for the CTA and the Courts to rule with finality on the matter?
Could the reason be as simple as Morales’ not getting the credit for collecting the back taxes of Pilipinas Shell, if it fact, it actually has any deficiencies.
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This is the entry in Wikipedia: “Manuel Bamba Villar, Jr. was born on December 13, 1949 in Tondo, an impoverished and densely populated district of Manila. His father, Manuel Montalban Villar, Sr., was from Cabatuan, Iloilo and his mother Curita Bamba came from Orani, Bataan. The family lived in a small rented apartment located in a run-down slum area.
“As a child, Villar attended Holy Child Catholic School, a private Catholic school in Tondo. He also assisted his mother in selling seafood at the Divisoria Public Market in order to help earn the money to support his siblings and himself to school.
“He finished his high school education at the Mapúa Institute of Technology in Intramuros. He attended the University of the Philippines-Diliman and earned his bachelor’s degree in business administration in 1970. He returned to the same school to earn his master’s degree in business administration in 1973. He later characterized himself as being impatient with formal schooling, and eager to start working and go into business.
“Villar began his professional career working as an accountant for Sycip, Gorres, Velayo & Co., the country’s largest accounting firm. He then worked as a financial analyst for private developments before venturing into starting his own business.
“In 1975, with an initial capital of P10,000, Villar started a business delivering sand and gravel for construction companies. This eventually segued into building houses, in what would become the country’s largest home building company, with an emphasis on low-priced mass housing.
“In July 1995, his flagship property, C&P Homes (now Vista Land and Lifescapes), was listed on the Philippine Stock Exchange and grew by more than a third in one day, ballooning Villar’s 80% stake in the company to $1.5 billion.
“As of 2009, he is the 9th wealthiest person in the Philippines with a net worth of US$530 million (P 24,380,000,000) according to Forbes.”
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Why is this man who would be President now selling himself as someone who went hungry as a boy and swam in garbage-filled waters? What was he (and his siblings) doing in private Catholic schools, if they were so poor that the leaks on their roof could never be fixed and never had enough to eat?
High school was in another private school (non-religious) and college was at U.P. Amazingly, starting with just P10,000 invested in a gravel and sand business, he was a peso multi-billionaire 25 year later.
That – getting so rich so quickly — is a feat that truly defies explanation and tells us that there is more to discover about the man than we now know.
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hvp 02.09.10
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