Bataan legislator bares P1.84-trillion shortfall in local government’s IRA share

CLARK FREEPORT—The alleged wrong interpretation of the provisions of the Constitution has resulted in a huge shortfall in the Internal Revenue Allotment (IRA) of local governments amounting to P1.84 trillion from 2009 to 2014 alone.

Nationalist People’s Coalition Rep. Enrique “Tet” Garcia Jr. of Bataan said the insertion of the words “internal revenue” in Section 284 of the Local Government Code is “patently unconstitutional” causing the wrong interpretation of the law resulting in a huge shortfall.

During the “Balitaan” forum organized by the Capampangan in Media Inc. at the Bale Balita here, in cooperation with the Clark Development Corp. and the Social Security System, Garcia said it should be termed “National Revenue Allotment” instead of “Internal Revenue Allotment.”

Garcia said he has sent a letter to President Aquino, but it has remained unanswered up to now.

“I have sent a personal letter to the President which up to now has remained unanswered. That’s the problem with P-Noy…noynoying,” Garcia told members of the media, referring to Mr. Aquino’s penchant for delaying tactic on matters of great importance.

For 2014 Garcia said his province alone has accumulated a shortfall of some P1.46 billion.

He said an en banc petition to the Supreme Court (SC) with him as the sole petitioner urging the Court “to declare as unconstitutional Section 284 of Republic Act 7160,” was filed on August 28, 2013.

Garcia said even with him as the sole petitioner, he has the support of the local governments of his province, but revealed that the League of Provinces is timid in supporting his petition.

Named as respondents in the SC petition were Executive Secretary Paquito N. Ochoa Jr., Finance Secretary Cesar V. Purisima, Budget Secretary Florencio B. Abad, Internal Revenue Commissioner Kim S. Jacinto-Henares and then-Customs Commissioner Rufino Rozzano B. Biazon.

Garcia explained that “the shortfalls in the collection of taxes-duties, tax diversions and delay or nonremittance by unscrupulous accredited authorized banks of their tax-duty collections or both could easily exceed P100 billion annually.”

He said “these are made possible by the defective and obsolete tax-collection system that the government refuses to modify.”

In this context, “the government, specifically the Department of Finance, is primarily to blame for these problems that have persisted since the early 1980s, when the present system of collecting taxes and duties through banks was first instituted,” Garcia said.

source:  Business Mirror