Mighty taxes

Batas Mauricio

WERE they planted or not? The illegal drugs and guns, I mean, that are now being claimed to have been confiscated by the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) allegedly from the house of Sarangani Mayor Aniceto Lopez Jr. And did the PDEA operatives who raided the house of Lopez comply with existing regulations?

I propose an immediate resolution of this charge by Lopez when the Department of Justice starts conducting the preliminary investigation on the cases that are to be filed against him. It is of urgent importance that this matter is clarified right away, whether the evidence against the mayor were planted or not, on account of the serious legal repercussions that may arise if his accusations are proved true.

Severe penalties await officers and employees of government who would be found by satisfactory evidence to have planted any incriminating evidence against anyone. In addition, the DOJ must right away also look into the faithful compliance with the rules affecting confiscated contraband.

For the information of all, especially of the police or of other government functionaries who regularly conduct raids on the houses or dens of suspected possessors of contraband like drugs or guns, it should always be remembered that raids like these are supposed to be carried out strictly under the rules which even the Supreme Court has already upheld.

According to Section 21 of Republic Act 9561, the law on illegal drugs at present, the first rule is for those who conducted the raids to immediately inventory the contraband that have been seized by them during their raids.

This inventory must be carried out in the presence of the suspect or of his lawyer, of a representative from media, of the Department of Justice, and in the presence likewise of any elected official in the locality where the raids were conducted. The Supreme Court decreed that the inventory must be made in the presence of all these people, to safeguard the integrity of the evidence. Dismissal of the case arising from the raid will be ordered if anyone of the people mentioned here did not attend the inventory.

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There is something I find hard to understand from the reports about the settlement amount that is supposed to be paid by Mighty Corp. to settle the criminal cases for tax evasion that were filed against its owners, in connection with their alleged refusal to pay taxes for their products. Is it P45 billion, or P25 billion, or P37.5 billion?

From the report that was attributed to Malacanang Press Spokesman Ernesto Abella, it was said that the amount Mighty Corp. was to pay as settlement amount for the tax evasion cases against its owners was P49 billion. On the other hand, from the report attributed to the Department of Justice, the amount being mentioned as settlement for the cases of Mighty Corp. is P25 billion only.

Now, another report, this time on the three tax evasion cases filed by the Bureau of International Revenue, the amount being claimed that must be paid is P37.5 billion for Mighty Corp.’s unpaid tax liabilities. Well, what really is the truth here, Malacanang, DOJ, and BIR? Is there already a settlement or there is none yet? Why do the reports vary on the amount to be paid? What can Mighty Corp. say to this?

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For us Filipinos, suspense is tightening on the massacre of concert-goers in Las Vegas, Nevada, as a result of reports that have been coming out from newspapers and online Internet media.

Based on these reports, Stephen Paddock, 64, the person who is being pointed to as the gunman who killed 58 people and wounded about 500 others during an open-air concert at the grounds of the Mandala Bay Hotel in Las Vegas, was reported to have remitted thousands of dollars to the Philippines days before the shooting.

Here are some questions about this: to whom in the Philippines did Paddock send the dollars? What was the reason why he sent such a huge sum of money to the Philippines? And where did he get that money? Why was the woman reputed to be his roommate, Marilou Danley, in the Philippines when Paddock staged the shooting?

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Now that President Duterte signed the law which postponed the barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections from Oct. 23, 2017 to the second Monday of May 2018, it should be made clear to the incumbents that the law gave them the right to continue staying in their positions, in a hold-over capacity, until the elections in May 2018.

But then, the incumbents must also realize that under Republic Act 10952, the law that postponed the polls, lawmakers put in some sort of a collatilla which provides that current barangay and SK officials can remain in their posts except when they are suspended or removed from office in the meantime, pursuant to existing processes.

What are the existing processes regarding suspension or dismissal from the service of barangay and SK officials? These are provided for under Sections 60-68 of the Local Government Code of 1991, or Republic Act 70671, as amended. It would be beneficial for all if these parts of the law are fully understood by them, so they uphold their rights.

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With so many politicians in the Philippines today boldly proclaiming that they are the ones who are righteous and are acting appropriately in the discharge of their duties and responsibilities in the sensitive positions being occupied by them in government, and that whatever accusations that are being hurled against them are pure and simple politicking by their foes, it has become very difficult for our countrymen to know who is telling the truth among them.

If one is not discerning enough, he or she could be misled about claims that this or that government official is totally clean in performing his or her functions, and did not steal, nor abuse anyone, using their positions. Of course, the truth can never be really concealed, for abuse and corruption has become truly rampant and pervasive in politics and in government.

Indeed, it is a source of awe and wonder for many to see government functionaries and politicians making wild claims about being upright and righteous even if it is clear that worms and faggots already fester in their hearts, minds and spirits, and their only clear concern is personal and family advancement. How can we compel these people to admit the truth about themselves?

I have a proposal and I am sure that with this proposal of mine, we can compel many in politics and in government to either stop their outlandish claims of uprightness and probity notwithstanding their true nature as corrupt and graft-prone all the time, or to stop them from being corrupt altogether.

How is this done? Before God and before our countrymen, we will ask all our politicians and government officials and employees, from the highest to the lowest, in the executive, legislative, and judicial departments, to take an oath that they have not engaged in any graft and corruption, in any stealing or abuse, in government.

Side by side with this oath, we will also require all politicians and government officials and employees to say, “may God deal with me and my family, my spouse, my children, my parents, my siblings and my other loved ones, be it ever so severely, if I engaged in corruption, abuse, stealing or plunder while I am in government.”

If a politician or a government functionary did not commit any corruption or abuse, there would be no problem reciting this oath. That politician or official or employee will have nothing to be afraid of, because if they did their work well God’s curses will not come upon them. On the other hand, if a politician or official or employee is corrupt or abusive, they will never be able to recite this oath.

I believe that any person who is able to mention the Name of God to ask for His gravest punishment if he is corrupt, abusive, or a plunderer in government, is a person who is clean and is upright. He knows that God’s curses will not come upon him even if asks for those curses because he did not do anything.

Those who are corrupt, abusive, and plunderers in government would surely look for excuses so as not take this oath that we have proposed here. They will say they do not have any reason to take an oath before God because they are doing their work well anyway, or taking this oath is simply stupid. Well, this would show who truly are traitors against our nation.

E-mail: batasmauricio@yahoo.com