FILE – Senator Risa Hontiveros. (Albert Calvelo/Senate PRIB)
MANILA, Philippines — Why not collect the billions of unpaid taxes from Philippine offshore gaming operators (POGOs) first?
Senator Risa Hontiveros issued this call on Thursday after the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) directed online sellers to register their business activities and settle their taxes not later than July 31.
“Imbes na online sellers, baka pwedeng singilin muna ang mga POGO na may [P50 billion] in unpaid taxes?” Hontiveros said in a tweet.
(Instead of taxing online sellers, maybe we can first ask POGOs to first pay the P50 billion in unpaid taxes?)
“Hindi yung dagdag-perwisyo pa sa sarili nating mga kababayan na kaunti na nga lang ang kita para pandagdag-gastos sa pamilya nila,” she added.
(We should not add to the burden of Filipinos who are not even making that much money for them to support their family).
Imbes na online sellers, baka pwedeng singilin muna ang mga POGO na may 50 billion pesos in unpaid taxes?
Hindi yung dagdag-perwisyo pa sa sarili nating mga kababayan na kaunti na nga lang ang kita para pandagdag-gastos sa pamilya nila.https://t.co/zwDwVOYrHK
— risa hontiveros (@risahontiveros) June 11, 2020
She then questioned the supposed leniency of the national government when it comes to regulating POGOs.
“Bakit ba ang luwag natin sa POGO pero ang lupit sa mga Pilipino? Kahit na may [P50 billion] unpaid taxes sila, at kahit na ‘di essential, pinayagan pa ring mag-operate sa ilalim ng ECQ (enhanced community quarantine),” the senator said.
(Why are we lenient on POGOs but strict with Filipinos? Even if they have P50 billion in unpaid taxes, and even if they are not essential, they were still allowed to operate under the ECQ.)
During a hearing of the Senate labor committee last February, an official from the BIR said that the majority of licensed POGOs in the country failed to pay an estimated P50 billion in fees and taxes in 2019.
Meanwhile, the country’s COVID-19 task force earlier allowed the POGOs to resume partial operations even when the ECQ was still in place in Metro Manila then.
“Mayroon din silang mass testing, at tayo wala. Pwede bang kapakanan ng mga Pinoy muna?” the lawmaker went on.
(Their workers were even required to undergo testing before returning to work while Filipinos were not. Can we first prioritize the welfare of Filipinos?)