Gov’t updates ADB leaders on governance, anti-poverty, tax administration measures

THE GOVERNMENT yesterday updated Asian Development Bank (ADB) officials on the former’s governance, tax administration and poverty reduction measures during a routine visit, a Palace official said.

During the meeting in Malacañang, President Benigno S. C. Aquino III was asked by ADB officials “specifically on the anti-corruption efforts of the government, good governance, fiscal management policy, as well as the anti-poverty measures,” presidential spokesperson Edwin Lacierda said in a briefing in the palace.

Mr. Aquino reiterated the administration’s current position to fix leaks in revenue collection before imposing new taxes, Mr. Lacierda said.

“[There was] emphasis on fixing the taxation system first and fix all the leakages, as what was promised in the [presidential] campaign,” he said.

One ADB official suggested tax breaks for credit cardholders, a proposal which Mr. Aquino said he would study but stressed that it was “not something that we are looking at right now,” Mr. Lacierda said.

“The president emphasized the credit responsibility of credit cardholders and informed the ADB directors of the creation of Credit Information Bureau.”

Republic Act No. 9510, or the Credit Information System Act of 2008, provided for the establishment of such a bureau that will have a central database to facilitate qualified borrowers’ access to funds.

For his part, National Economic and Development Authority Director-General Cayetano W. Paderanga, Jr., who attended the meeting, said in a phone interview: “The president talked about his priorities [which include] increasing efficiency in tax collection.”

The president particularly cited efforts of the Finance department, as well as of the bureaus of Internal Revenue and of Customs to file cases against tax cheats, Mr. Paderanga said.

He described the ADB visit as routine, saying its leadership “usually goes to constituent countries.”

Other Cabinet officials who were also present during the meeting were Finance Secretary Cesar V. Purisima and Presidential Management Staff Julia R. Abad.

Visitors from the ADB were Phil Bowen, executive director for Australia, Azerbaijan, Cambodia, Georgia, Hong Kong, Kiribati, Federated States of Micronesia, Nauru, Palau, Solomon Islands and Tuvalu; Richard Edwards, executive director for Austria, Germany, Luxembourg, Turkey and the United Kingdom; Siraj Shamdsuddin, executive director for the Philippines, Kazakhstan, Maldives, Marshall Islands, Mongolia, Pakistan, Timor-Leste; Gaudencio Hernandez, Jr., alternate executive director for the Philippines, Kazakhstan, Maldives, Marshall Islands, Mongolia, Pakistan and Timor-Leste; Robert Orr, executive director for the United States; Jaejung Song, executive director for South Korea, Papua New Guinea, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Uzbekistan, Vanuatu and Vietnam; and Yingming Yang, executive director for the People’s Republic of China. — AMGR, Businessworld