Kim Henares: Her legacy

They were known as the three Furies – Justice Secretary Leila de Lima, Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales, BIR Commissioner Kim Henares – because of their fearless integrity and dedication to serving the country. In Greek mythology, the Furies were ancient deities whose task was to hear complaints brought by mortals against the insolence of the young to the aged, of children to parents, of hosts to guests, and of householders or city councils to suppliants.

This Filipino version of the Three Furies accepted the herculean challenge of trying to cleanse three government agencies when so many had previously failed. Today, they have gone further and accomplished more than what was deemed humanly possible at the beginning of their terms.

In the last three months of P-Noy’s term, the Three Furies have gone their separate ways. Leila de Lima has decided to run for the Senate. Ombudsman Carpio-Morales continues her anti-corruption crusade. BIR Commissioner Kim Jacinto Henares prepares for retirement but continues to plan and implement initiatives to further improve the BIR’s service to taxpayers or what she calls customer service.

During her term, Commissioner Henares has been known to be more comfortable with extemporaneous speeches and open forums or press conferences. But last Tuesday, in her talk at the Management Association of the Philippines, she came with a powerpoint presentation. Perhaps, as she said, it was also time to think of her legacy.

But it was during a lull in her prepared talk that she gave two extemporaneous proposals which our next leaders should seriously include in their first 100 days agenda.

First, Henares said she has nothing against lowering of taxes but she felt that tax reform was more important. The biggest defect is the gross inequality in our tax collection system which favors the interests of the rich over the middle class. Salaried employees are automatically deducted withholding taxes and end up paying 32% of their income as taxes. On the other hand, the very rich rarely pay 32% of their total earnings as taxes. It is not only tax evasion but the tax structure. For example, dividends, a form of income monopolized by the very rich, are taxed at a much lower rate than the salary of a clerk.

The very strict bank secrecy law allows those with the means and the influence to do money laundering and make tax evasion much easier. Again, the middle class must pay their taxes on a monthly basis.

Second, Henares says that contractualization prevents the Filipino labor force from becoming more productive. This lack of security of tenure is a principal obstacle to unlocking what she calls increasing the “productivity of the labour force” to its full potential; and, is a deterrent to more foreign investments in manufacturing in this country.

There is no question that she has become one of the most controversial appointee in PNoy’s government. But, her legion of admirers continue to defend her vigorously stating that the Bureau of Internal Revenue is inherently a controversial office.

There is no doubt that under Henares, the BIR, during P-Noy’s term, has performed its task much better than under any previous administration. In the last six years (2009-2015), it almost doubled tax collections.

The annual BIR collections were: 2009-P750 billion; 2010-P823 billion; 2011- P924 billion; 2013-P1.217 trillion; 2014-P1.335 trillion; and 2015-P1.442 trillion. From the point of view of economics, the statistics is even more impressive. While the Philippine GDP growth rate has been the second best in Asia, the growth has never reached eight percent on an annual basis. However, the tax collection growth rate has been averaging 10 percent since 2011. This means that the growth rate of tax collection has been growing faster than the country’s gross domestic product.

According to Henares, the most common complaint of taxpayers is that they do not know where their taxes go. She presented to her audience some of the major government services that are financed by taxes.

She cited the Pantawid Pamilya Cash program which provides monthly cash subsidies to poor families who pledge to keep sending their children to school. In 2010, at the start of P-Noy’s term, this cash program had 790,000 beneficiaries. As of June 2015, the same program had  4,390,000 beneficiaries. Six years ago, the PhilHealth program covered only indigent senior citizens. Today, the Expanded Senior Citizens Act allows PhilHealth to cover all senior citizens. This is the closest thing we have to a universal health care system.

In education, 86,479 classrooms have been constructed during the past five years compared to the 17,305 classrooms built during the previous five years. Last year, 103,200,000 educational books were purchased in preparation for the 2016 schoolyear.

From 2010 to 2015, 191,585,990 kilometers of roads were constructed. From 2010 to 2014  3,416 kilometers of national roads were paved; 8,768 of national roads were improved; and, 10,858 kilometers of temporary bridges were made permanent.

Henares can be justifiably proud of the fact that the BIR now is the most internet savy government agency and has used modern technology to dramatically improve customer service. For example, electronic tax filing has now removed the long, tiring lines that were the hallmarks of tax filings in the past.

When asked the one attribute the next BIR commissioner should have, Henares answered that love of country was the most important. I believe that this is what has kept her calm and fearless throughout her tenure as BIR – her love of the Philippines, her country and her people.

Summer creative writing classes for kids and teens

Young Writers’ Hangout : April 2, 9, 16, 23, 30, May 21, 28 and June 4 (10:30am-12nn except June 4, 1:30pm-3pm)

Wonder of Words Workshop:  May 2, 4, 6, 10, 11 and 13 (1:30-3:30pm for 7-10 years old and 4-6pm for 11-17 years old) with guest authors, Manix Abrera and Mina Esguerra.

Classes will be held at Fully Booked Bonifacio High Street.  For registration and fee details, 0917-6240196 / [email protected]

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