Bicol tax collection exceeds 2012 target by 3.16%

By Marlon A. Loterte

LEGAZPI CITY, Jan 29 (PIA) -- Tax collection by the Bureau of Internal Revenues (BIR) regional office here has exceeded its 2012 target by 3.16 percent or P169.5 million.

Rita Palmiano, tax assistance unit head of BIR Legazpi City said the tax collection based on BIR’s cumulative report from January to December last year was P5.534 billion in 2012, higher than the target of P5.365 billion.

The collection is also 19.67 percent higher than the P4.7 billion collected in 2011.

“The amount is still expected to increase in anticipation of more remittances from other revenue district offices in the region,” Palmiano said.

Palmiano said the increase in the collection was a result of the agency’s massive campaigns and programs. He attributed the high tax collection turn out from remittances made by tax withholding agents in the region and from annual registration payments of regular suppliers of goods and services by individual and private corporations including large taxpayers, among others.

It can also be credited to the campaigns of BIR Bicol to instill in the minds of the buying public the importance of asking for a receipt for every purchase they make to ensure that the corresponding tax is paid.

Palmiano said the bureau has pursued a complementary project to the Ask for a Receipt Program by launching the receipt issuance campaign to remind all business establishments about the importance of issuing receipt in every transaction they make.

Business establishments were asked to post in conspicuous places in their establishments a new sticker with the message “Sa kada pagbakal mo, Obligacion ko an magresibo” (For every purchase you make, it is my obligation to issue a receipt).

This is also to instill in the minds of the businessmen that it is their obligation to issue a receipt for every sale or transaction they make without the customer asking for a receipt, Palmiano said.

The BIR regional office here has also introduced “Robi Resibo,” the anime superhero they created whose mission is to go around business establishments as a way to further strengthen their advocacy campaign on the importance for the customers to demand receipts for every transaction and for the business establishment to automatically issue a receipt.

She said she is confident that this year the bureau will be able to accomplish the same or even go beyond last year’s feat. (MAL/ARSajuela-BU/PIA5/Albay)


Two wanted criminals in Bicol fall

By Sally A. Atento

LEGAZPI CITY, Jan. 29 (PIA) -- The Philippine National Police (PNP) in Masbate City has arrested two of the most wanted persons in the Bicol region.

Police Superintendent Renato Bataller, Police Regional Office V information officer, said the operation was successfully conducted through a joint undertaking of PNP forces, including the Regional Special Operations Task Group (RSTOG) in the city.

Felix A. Espinosa Jr., the 8th most wanted in the list, with a monetary reward of P90,000 was arrested last January 16 for murder charges.

Espinosa is a 37-year old farmer residing in Barangay Syndicate, Aroroy, Masbate.

Also arrested in Brgy. San Ramon, Claveria, Masbate on January 23 with the same charges and monetary reward is Pedro Francisco Mahayag Jr., the 68th most wanted in the list.

Mahayag is 43 years old, married, and is a resident of Brgy. Buenasuerte, Pio V. Corpuz, Masbate.

Police Supt. Hereberto Obias Olitoquit, Masbate police provincial director, said massive manhunts for all criminals in the province are ongoing.

“If all criminals are arrested and kept in prison, we will carry out a peaceful election this coming May 2013 since nobody will be able to make use of them,” Olitoquit said. (MAL/SAA –PIA5/Albay)


Naga City Vet Office strengthens campaign against rabies

By Analiza S. Macatangay

NAGA CITY, Jan 29 (PIA) -- The Naga City Veterinary Office recorded 15 fatalities due to dog bites from 2003 up to January 2013.

This was disclosed by Dr. Junius Elad Jr., city veterinary officer, during the Forum@PIA held at the Radyo ng Bayan Office held here last Friday.

Elad said the first fatality for this year was a woman from Barangay Calauag of this city who was exposed to rabies last November 2012 was recorded in his office last January 2. This prompted the City Veterinarian’s Office (CVO) to immediately deploy teams for the implementation of several programs.

One of its programs is the ongoing anti-rabies vaccination where a team goes from house to house to ensure that dogs are given an anti-rabies shot. A minimal fee of P75 is asked as payment for the vaccination.

CVO also continues to eliminate stray dogs. Free-roaming dogs are captured and impounded in their facility. The owner is then meted with a P200 penalty when the impounded dog is not retrieved.

Elad said they target dogs roaming the city streets, particularly during night time and at dawn.

“We are calling on dog owners to be responsible, and keeping their animals tucked inside their domicile is one way to eliminate the transmission of rabies from other infected dogs. We don’t want to have a repeat of the 2013 data, where we recorded 7 fatalities, the highest human fatality record we have at the city vet office,” Elad said.

Elad also announced the city’s program on dog and cat population control which dog and cat owners can avail of free of charge. The program engages in spaying or the removal of the female dog’s ovary and uterus and castration of male dogs so that they will not be capable of producing an offspring.

“We also would like to remind our residents not to throw their garbage on the street which is usually the source of food of some “askals” or stray dogs. They will not frequent an area if they cannot find any food that they can fest on,” Elad added.

Elad said they are also strengthening their campaign on the importance of vaccination through information dissemination with the help of the media. They also plan to put tarpaulins in every barangay which emphasizes how to avoid dog bites and how to deal with stray dogs.

CVO will start issuing citation tickets within the week to dog owners who will fail to comply with the provisions of City Ordinance 2006-025 otherwise known as the Naga City Ordinance for Animal Care, specifically on the impounding penalties.

“Rabies is 100 percent preventable but also 100 percent non-treatable once the symptoms are already evident.” Elad said. (LSM/PIA-Camarines Sur)