https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BZrVd76-mBY
Ni Vic Somintac
Eagle News Service
(Eagle News) – Hinihintay pa ng Department of Finance o (DOF) ang resulta ng imbestigasyon ng Senado kaugnay sa mga krimen at katiwaliang bumabalot sa Philippine Offshore Gaming Operations (POGO) sa bansa.
Magugunitang nanganak na ng iba’t-ibang krimen at irregularidad ang POGO gaya ng mga nadiskubreng drug trade, sex dens, kidnapping, money laundering, “pastillas scheme” at pagpasok ng mga kahina-hinalang Chinese nationals na ginagamit ang nasabing gambling operations.
Sinabi ni Finance Assistant Secretary Tony Lambino ibabatay ng DOF ang magiging desisyon at polisya kung hahayaang magpatuloy o tuluyang ipapasara na ang mga POGO sa resulta ng imbestigasyon ng senado.
Ayon kay Lambino sa ngayon ay patuloy ang kanilang pagtukoy at paghabol sa mga POGO hubs na hindi nagbabayad ng buwis sa bansa.
Inihayag ni Lambino kung mapatunayan na hindi sila nagbabayad ng kaukulang buwis agad itong ipapasara ng DOF sa pamamagitan ng Bureau of National Revenue (BIR)
“Well ah, yung priority po talaga natin ay ma-detect yung mga hindi sumusunod sa ating mga batas. That was the priority when that POGO Task Force was formed. Because when the secretary wanted to know how many workers there were in this industry, no one could give him a straight answer because the lists of the various agencies involved were not consolidated,” ayon pa kay Lambino.
“So one of the first things he asked the Task Force to do was to consolidate the list which is the first time we had an informed estimate of around 138,000 that was adjusted eventually to 120,000, there are those who according to the Senate hearing yesterday (Tuesday) might even not be on that list? So it’s longer, It’s a longer list. But, the point is the work was started to actually when the Task Force was formed to consolidate at pagbanggain itong mga listahan na ito, para alam natin kung sino yung mga nandito,” ayon kay DOF Sec. Lambino.
“Based on that list we were able to determine who (were) not paying taxes. And it became clear na napakarami ang hindi nagbabayad, so you need the data and the evidence in order to run after these tax evaders. So yun yung proseso na ginawa at mula noon ay nalaman na rin natin na based on these estimates it’s around P2,000,000,000 in withholding taxes that we should be collecting per month. As of last year, we were able to increase our collections by around 169 percent relative to the previous year. This year we’re already at a maybe higher than that in terms of the first 2 months, not mayb,e we are higher than that in the first 2 months but we are still improving that collection efficiency in the sector, yun yung pinagmulan nito. In terms of the other issues that were raised, again looking at it as a holistic set of challenges and potential problems is a thoughtful way to go before we actually look at all the options that should be on the table,” sabi pa nya.
