DEPUTY Speaker Raneo Abu filed Thursday a measure seeking to raise the salary of the Bureau of Internal Revenue employees and officials to address the “deeply rooted” corruption in the revenue-collecting agency and efficiently collect taxes.
Batangas Rep. Raneo Abu, a deputy speaker, said House Bill 5028 allowed the BIR to have its own competitive compensation and remuneration system to attract and even retain highly qualified personnel by exempting the tax agency from the coverage of Republic Act 6758 or the “Compensation and Position Classification Act of 1989,” or the “Salary Standardization Law.”
“With competitive salaries, it is expected that corruption shall be eliminated, and that more job seekers shall see the BIR as a worthy employer and revenue collection for the betterment of the Philippines, a worthy proposal to fight for,” Abu said.
Abu expressed hope the House leadership would prioritize the passage of the measure as the House committee on ways and means has been deliberating the Comprehensive Tax Reform Package to ensure funding for the priority pro-poor programs of President Rodrigo Duterte.
At a congressional hearing conducted by the House committee on ways and means Wednesday, the CTRP, Internal Commissioner Cesar Dulay told lawmakers the agency was responsible behind the removal either by resignation or early retirement of at least 300 suspected undesirable employees and officials following their intensified anti-graft and corruption campaign.
Abu said the entry-level accountant in the BIR only received P19,077 monthly salary compared to P50,238 in the Securities and Exchange Commission and P46,104 in the Insurance Commission for the same post.
Abu also cited the monthly salary of P35,693 being given to a lawyer at BIR while the entry-level at SEC was P53,754 and P66,524 is paid by IC for the very same position.
Abu noted the Bureau of Customs had been allowed through Section 202 of the Republic Act 10863 or the Customs Modernization and Tariff Act to conduct a compensation study with the end view of developing and recommending to the President the proposed increase for their pay and premiums.
Abu blamed the poor compensation behind numerous complaints against BIR employees and officials seemingly incompetent, corrupt and unprofessional.
“The current structure for position and compensation classification encourages and worsens the current system of incompetence and corruption. Due to these problems, tax collection suffers and large scale evaders get away,” Abu said.
In pushing for the passage of the measure, Abu stressed the need to raise the compensation package of BIR personnel because tax administration was very crucial to the delivery of basic services for the people and funding the pro-poor programs of President Duterte.
“The role of the BIR in advancing President Rodrigo Duterte’s Ten-Point Economic Agenda can never be highlighted enough. The taxes the BIR collects primarily fund infrastructure, education, health, rural development and the internal allotment of all local government units,” Abu said.
