11 Bulacan warehouses padlocked for violation of revenue code

GUIGUINTO, Bulacan, Philippines — The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) has temporarily suspended operations of 11 warehouses in this town for violating the National Internal Revenue Code of 1997.

BIR personnel from its Region 5 investigation unit in Caloocan City yesterday sought police assistance in implementing its “Oplan Kandado” at the T12 Warehouse Complex in Barangay Tabang, according to Col. Chito Bersaluna, Bulacan police director.

The warehouses are operated by the UPFC Logistics Corp., Cagayan Corn Products Corp., Pacific Rim Transport & Logistics Inc., AAi Logistics Cargo Express Inc. and JComp Trading and Distribution. 

Six of the warehouses contained imported rice from Vietnam and Myanmar, two have imported soya milk and detergent, two have corn flour and one is being used as service provider for an online store.

The companies were found to be not complying with the requirement of posting the annual registration fee form, payment form (0605), original certificate of registration and the “Ask for Receipts” poster or “Notice to the Public.” 

The suspension order was signed by BIR deputy commissioner Arnel Guballa and implemented by its Region 5 director Ma. Gracia Javier. 

Rice tariff excess

Palay farmers are expected to get at least P700 million in cash aid from the rice tariff collection in excess of the P10 billion collected this year as part of the opening up of the industry to cheap imports.

During the interpellation on Senate Joint Resolution No. 8, Sen. Francis Pangilinan insisted that the country’s rice farmers need cash assistance in the transition to a liberalized regime in the rice industry.

He said funds might be taken from the excess of the P10 billion of the rice tariff collection.

“The DOF (Department of Finance) has manifested that they have already collected P10.7 billion as of Sept. 20 this year. In other words, we have P700 million that we can allocate as cash assistance without need to amend the law,” Pangilinan said.

Sen. Cynthia Villar, chair of the Senate committee on agriculture and food, agreed with Pangilinan’s proposal.

In his interpellation, Pangilinan said the Philippine Institute for Development Studies has recommended an annual P15,000 cash assistance to farmers during the transition period.

Immediate cash assistance is the gist of Pangilinan’s Senate Joint Resolution 2, which seeks to amend the Rice Tariffication law and allows a P13-billion immediate cash assistance directly to rice farmers. – With Louise Maureen Simeon, Mary Grace Padin