News Briefs
Comelec earmarks P78M for acquisition of SD cards
The Commission on Elections (Comelec) has earmarked P78.5 million for the acquisition of over 100,000 secure digital (SD) cards to be used in the May 2019 midterm elections.
SD cards are used in each vote counting machine to store ballot images, as well as audit and transmission logs, among others.
The Comelec intends to acquire 104,165 SD cards. It has an approved budget of P78.5 million for the project or P753.98 per unit.
A complete set of bidding documents may be acquired by interested bidders until Nov. 19, upon payment of the P50,000 fee at the Comelec special bids and awards comittee secretariat located at Shipping Center Building in Intramuros, Manila.
Bids must be submitted before 9 a.m. of Nov. 19, at the basement conference room.
The bids will then be opened at 10 a.m. —Tina G. Santos
CTA affirms P16-M tax refund for Singapore CB
The Court of Tax Appeals (CTA) has thumbed down the Bureau of Internal Revenue’s (BIR) appeal on the P15.66-million tax refund granted to the Monetary Authority of Singapore over income earned from fixed-rate treasury notes in 2013.
In an en banc decision dated Oct. 17, the CTA affirmed the Second Division’s May 23, 2017 decision in favor of the Singapore central bank (CB).
The court stressed that the National Internal Revenue Code exempted from tax the income earned from Philippine investments by financial institutions owned by foreign governments.
It rejected BIR’s claim that the law required the investment to be directly made by the foreign government and not through an intermediary.
The Monetary Authority of Singapore earned P78.31 million in interest income from its investment in fixed-rate treasury notes from January to November 2013. —Vince F. Nonato
Sandiganbayan clears Sarangani mayor in P10.75-M falsification case
The Sandiganbayan has acquitted Maasim, Sarangani, Mayor Aniceto Lopez Jr. of falsification involving the funding sources for the town’s 2010 supplemental budget.
In a 23-page decision dated Oct. 22, the court’s First Division also acquitted municipal treasurer Moises Magallona Jr. and municipal budget officer Reina Perpetua Jamora.
Ombudsman prosecutors had accused the three of certifying that the P10.75-million internal revenue allotment adjustment was available as a source of funding for the supplemental budget, even though this turned out to be nonexistent at the time.
The passage of the supplemental budget, even without the corresponding funds, allowed Lopez to appoint employees to 84 new positions. —Vince F. Nonato
