THE PHILIPPINE Tax Academy (PTA) has obtained accreditation from the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) as a professional development program provider, the Department of Finance (DoF) said yesterday.
The DoF said that courses and training programs offered by the PTA can be credited as Continuing Professional Development (CPD) units for certified public accountants (CPAs).
“The training programs offered by the PTA will be submitted to the PRC for approval and accreditation,” Finance Undersecretary Gil S. Beltran was quoted in a statement as saying.
He said that the Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) is also looking to donate land to the PTA at New Clark City, where a number of schools are seeking to locate there, including the University of the Philippines, Ateneo de Manila University, Philippine Science High School, and the Technological University of the Philippines.
Beltran has said that the PTA is also exploring a possible partnership with the Centre of Development Studies of the UK’s University of Cambridge and has partnered with the UP-Los Baños (UPLB) to raise the standards of its course offerings, which are designed to raise the professionalism of the government’s revenue officers.
The PTA, which was launched in February, is designed to upgrade the skills of revenue officers, bringing them up to date with international best practices.
The institution was created by Republic Act No. 10143 enacted in 2009. It is intended to “serve as a learning institution for tax collectors and administrators of the government and selected applicants from the private sector.”
The law requires all personnel of the Bureau of Internal Revenue, Bureau of Customs, and the Bureau of Local Government Finance to undergo “re-tooling and enhancement seminars and training programs to be conducted by the Philippine Tax Academy” and that all applicants seeking employment in these agencies “pass the basic courses before they can be hired whether on contractual or permanent status.”
The DoF is also evaluating the University of Makati and the University of the Philippines Los Baños as possible PTA campuses.
The PTA’s program, curriculum and syllabus were developed based on Association of Southeast Asian Nations University Network Standards, according to Mr. Beltran.
The DoF also noted that it plans to set up a masters program with the specialization in taxation or local finance. — Elijah Joseph C. Tubayan
