BTr assures remaining P4B RCEP fund will be released within the year
THE BUREAU of Treasury (BTr) on Thursday assured that it will be able to determine the source for the remaining P4 billion Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (RCEF) as early as next month, and that it will be released within the year.
National Treasurer Rosalia V. De Leon told BusinessWorld the P4 billion remaining RCEF funds might be sourced from income in investments, interest, fees and charges and other excess money remitted back to the agency.
Republic Act No. 11203, the Rice Tarrification Law, mandates a P10 billion annual funding for RCEF in the next six years from tariffs collected on rice imports, to support farm mechanization, seed and fertilizer acquisition.
“We’re looking at if there would be excess income already that we can generate. We’ll see, next month or around October. Kasi (Because) by October, depending on our investments, usually du’n nagpapasok ng (that’s when the) coupon payments (come in), mag-ge-generate namin (we can generate our) interest income,” Ms. De Leon said in an ambush interview after the Senate hearing on the 2020 budget.
At the hearing on Wednesday, Department of Budget and Management (DBM) Assistant Secretary Rolando U. Toledo also said they will release the remaining P4 billion to complete the P10 billion RCEF funding for this year. Mr. Toledo said the release will depend on BTr, which will have to look at ”excess” government money.
Meanwhile, DBM Undersecretary Janet B. Abuel said they will continue to monitor the utilization rate of RCEF before releasing more. ”Let’s see with the agencies like PhilMech (Philippine Center for Postharvest Development and Mechanization) anong (what is the) status na before we add more release,” Ms. Abuel said. She noted that sometimes the challenge is agencies get “choked” by too much funds. — Beatrice M. Laforga
KAPA founder’s wife slapped with tax evasion charge
THE BUREAU of Internal Revenue (BIR) has filed a tax evasion case against Kapa Community Ministry International, Inc.’s (KAPA) corporate secretary, Reyna L. Apolinario, for undeclared income sources for taxable years 2017 and 2018. In a statement, BIR said the total income tax liability of Ms. Apolinario, wife of KAPA founder Joel Apolinario, for those two years is P168.2 million. This total includes surcharges and interests, broken down into: 2017 — ₱163.9 million; and 2018 — ₱4.3 million. BIR said Ms. Apolinario did not file an income tax return (ITR) from 2012-2015, but did so in 2016, declaring an income of ₱207 million. In 2017 and 2018, Ms. Apolinario declared incomes of ₱171.10 million and ₱12.06 million, respectively. By 2018, her declared beginning capital from audited financial statements climbed to P306.9m, pointing to undeclared sources of income of P307.7 million for taxable year 2017. This includes cash amounting to P140 million, luxury vehicles worth P27.60 million, heavy equipment totalling P65.7 million, real properties worth P45.1 million, and other assets paired with P9.18 million for taxable year 2018.
REYNA
Called ‘Madam Reyna’ by followers of the supposedly religious group, Ms. Apolinario owned nine vehicles under the name of REYNA in 2017 and 2018 that were not declared in her financial statements, BIR investigators said. Moreover, information from the bureau’s Integrated Tax System (ITS) showed that REYNA owns 13 businesses under her name, including retail-construction materials/garments/metals, gasoline stations and convenience stores, computer and printing services, quarry, convention center, fishing boat, bakeshop & refreshment, media & marketing network, and hotel. Ms. Apolinario along with her husband and several other KAPA officials are facing separate complaints filed by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the National Bureau of Investigation over their alleged involvement in the investment scam operated under KAPA. SEC has revoked KAPA’s registration.
TOP BELAGIO
In another case, BIR also filed a criminal complaint against Binondo-based wholesaler Top Belagio Super Sales Corporation, along with its president, Stanley C. Kho, and treasurer, Sherrie Ann R. Dael. They are charged for attempting to evade their annual income tax and quarterly value-added tax (VAT) as well as for failure to pay improperly accumulated earnings tax for 2016, amounting to a liability of P555.4 million in total. The wholesaler is facing violation of Sections 254 and 255, in relation to Sections 253 and 256 of the National Internal Revenue Code of 1997 as investigations found that the amounts declared in their Annual Income Tax Return and Quarterly Value-Added Tax Returns are lower than actual sales. — Luz Wendy T. Noble
