Didn’t the SC issue a TRO to BIR ruling No. 4-2014?

For tonight’s special presentation on our talk show Straight from the Sky, we bring you the 8th Edition of the Gabii sa Kabilin (Night of Heritage). How time flies indeed and the Gabii sa Kabilin has grown by leaps and bounds — from small beginnings with the participation of Casa Gorordo, the Cathedral Museum and the Sto. Niño Museum —  it has now spread to all the museums in Metro Cebu with Lapu-Lapu City, Mandaue City, and Talisay City  joining this annual event. 

With us to talk about what to expect in the Gabii sa Kabilin is Dr. Joy Gerra, executive director of the Ramon Aboitiz Foundation, Inc. (RAFI) Culture and Heritage Unit, Mrs. Louella Alix, curator of the Cathedral Museum of Cebu, Mrs. Lilu Aliño institutional planning officer of St. Theresa’s College, Fr. Harold Rentoria of the National Commission for Culture and Arts (NCCA), Ms. Corazon Baybay, assistant manager for community relations of the AboitizLand, Archt. Anthony Abelgas, curator of the Museo Parian sa Sugbo and Councilor Doroteo Emit of Talisay City.

With today’s technology moving at a blinding speed, the Gabii sa Kabilin should help the Digital Generation (those who were born around the early 90’s) look back in time on how slow it took technology to evolve. A case in point is the cinema or theater business like the Oriente Theater, which has been using the electro-mechanical projector long before I was born. Last December, the Avila family made a monumental decision to discard the age-old projector and enter the new world of digital cinema. This is not far from our old mechanical camera or your electro-mechanical telephone.

You can also see old houses like the Jesuit House or the Yap Sandiego Ancestral Home and reminisce on how Cebuanos used to live. A good example is the way we used to store drinking water inside the banga, which has been replaced by the ubiquitous water dispenser. These are just a few simple examples of what you can see in the Gabii sa Kabilin on May 30, Friday, starting at 6:00 p.m. to midnight. 

So watch the highlights of this very interesting cultural event that happens only in Cebu in this part of the world in SkyCable’s channel 61 at 8:00 p.m. with replays on Wednesdays and Saturdays same time and channel. Replays can also be seen in MyTV’s channel 30th at 7:00 a.m. and 9:00 p.m. on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays.

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With the World Economic Forum (WEF) on East Asia over and done with, the Philippine government can relax and continue with its current economic and political policies that could bring ruin to the Filipino people under the Aquino regime. Perhaps the most hated agency under this Presidency is the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR). Well, it has been said that whether you like it or not, there are two things in life that one cannot escape — taxes and death.

While this is some kind of a truism, BIR Commissioner Kim Henares’ high-profile campaign against professionals has shamed doctors, lawyers, and shaking down international boxing legend Manny “Pacman” Pacquiao. This has only added stress to the people who pay taxes.

If many people haven’t been paying the BIR the taxes due the government, it is because our tax system is complicated, which opens taxpayers to corrupt BIR employees, which Kim Henares has yet to address. Practically all gov’t agencies are to a certain degree corrupt, and the BIR is no exception with all due respect to personnel who are not corrupt. But for as long as Kim Henares doesn’t act against this corruption in her own bureau, she will always be the principal cause of resentment of many taxpayers. Never mind those who do not pay taxes; they have no fear of the BIR. Worse of all, the Filipino people now know that their taxes are being stolen by senators and congressmen.

Meanwhile, the Supreme Court issued a temporary restraining order (TRO) against its new regulation No. 4-2014 that requires self-employed professionals to submit affidavits indicating their rates and register their official appointment books. The Integrated Bar of the Philippines argued that the BIR order infringes on the constitutional right to privacy of lawyers and their clients, which is protected by Rule 130, Section 23 (b) of the Rules of Court. Thanks to the SC for protecting the people’s right to privacy.

So we ask, why is the BIR still insisting or forcing Revenue Regulations No 4-2014 when the SC stopped the BIR already? Come on, why does the BIR force insurance agents to submit an affidavit of their appointment books, when appointments do not necessarily end in business. Why do they need this information? So it can fall into the hands of corrupt BIR who can then start their own shakedown of those in their appointment list?

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