Malacanang assures ‘Pablo’ victims in Mindanao
of continued all out support
Expressing concern for the victims of typhoon
“Pablo” (international codename: Bopha) that struck the eastern portion of
Mindanao last December, Malacanang assured that “all out” support and aide
would be accorded to them as soon as possible.
In a press briefing in Malacanang on Wednesday,
Presidential Spokesperson Edwin Lacierda said the government, particularly the
Department of Social Welfare and Development was working to expedite the
immediate release and distribution of food packs to the victims of Pablo which
devastated a wide portion of Davao Oriental and Compostela Valley in Mindanao.
“Patuloy ang pagbibigay ng tulong sa kanila
(victims),” Lacierda said adding, “We have spent hundreds of millions of pesos
on them and we continue, let me emphasize, we continue to assist the typhoon
victims.”
“The DSWD is proactive in providing assistance.
This government has been proactive in providing assistance not only to those
who we can reach but also those in hard to reach areas,” he added.
He called on all “not to resort to violence” and
be patient as “this government will go all out to help those affected.”
“All the victims, we will reach them and we will
reach out to them. We will provide all that we can,” Lacierda said. PND (rck)
Malacanang vows commitment to intensified tax
collection efforts
The Aquino government reiterated its commitment
to intensified tax collection efforts by running after tax evaders after the
Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) collected P1.058 trillion in 2012.
Presidential Spokesperson Edwin Lacierda said
during the regular press briefing in Malacanang on Wednesday that the BIR has
stepped up the filing of cases against tax evaders as part of the Aquino
government’s commitment to tread daang matuwid or the straight and righteous
path.
The government has stepped up the filing of
cases against tax evaders with 28 new cases filed since November 2012.
According to the Department of Finance (DOF), 11
new cases were filed under the Run after Tax Evaders (RATE) program, while 17
new cases were filed under the Run after the Smugglers (RATS) initiative.
The DOF and its attached agencies are working
with the Department of Justice and the judiciary for the swift resolution of
the cases.
With the various reforms initiated by the
concerned government agencies, the government succeeded in increasing tax
revenues last year.
The DOF had reported that the BIR increased its
tax revenues by almost 15 percent to P1.058 trillion last year from P924
billion in 2011.
The DOF said the collections from BIR operations
amounted to P1.017 trillion last year from P890 billion in 2011, while
collections from non-BIR operations amounted to P40.95 billion from P33.65
billion in 2011. PND (js)
