Again, Teves fails to hurdle CA

MANILA, Philippines – Finance Secretary Margarito Teves again failed to pass scrutiny of the powerful Commission on Appointments (CA) yesterday after senators questioned his ability to head the agency.

For his part, former Negros Oriental congressman Herminio Teves said he would rather see his son resign than undergo another embarrassing experience at the CA.

“I guess he should just resign,” the elder Teves said.

In his opening statement, the younger Teves said the department has been able to tackle the challenge of expanding the value added tax (VAT) under his watch.

He also outlined his efforts in containing the budget deficit to P64.8-billion in 2006 and further reduce it to P9.4-million in 2007, among other gains since he assumed office as DOF secretary.

Apart from reports of rampant smuggling at the Customs bureau, Teves is also facing questions regarding the DOF’s move to downgrade the tax of Pall Mall cigarettes from P26 to P6.74 that caused the government millions in lost revenue.

But Teves maintained the DOF merely upheld the Bureau of Internal Revenue’s Dec. 20, 2007 legal interpretation of the “highest tax classification rule” and the “no downward reclassification rule” as well as its applicability to locally manufactured Pall Mall cigarettes.

“DOF now considers the matter resolved, and any further legal questions must be raised to the Court of Tax Appeals,” Teves stressed.

Sen. Juan Ponce Enrile, chairman of the CA committee on finance, reiterated his call for Teves to remove Undersecretary Gaudencio Mendoza from the department.

“He must remove his Undersecretary (Mendoza), he is causing the government to lose millions of pesos,” Enrile said. “It’s for good governance.”

Asked how long should the younger Teves wait for his confirmation, Enrile said: “I don’t know how to measure it. It’s close enough, it’s far enough.”

In previous CA hearings on Teves’ appointment, Enrile raised the issue of smuggling based on a complaint by one Ruben Frogoso, who alleged that 36 container vans filled with power generators had been illegally brought into the country.

Frogoso’s complaint alleged Teves failed to act on the smuggling even after being informed ahead of the dubious shipment. Frogoso was dismissed as an intelligence officer of the DOF for failing a lifestyle check.

Sen. Panfilo Lacson also doubted Teves’ ability to lead the DOF.

Lacson said Teves has many things to explain before he gets CA confirmation over reports that former speaker Jose de Venecia was linked to smuggling by some administration officials.

Lacson also sought documents pertaining to the loan agreement on the Northrailway Project, which has been also dubbed as one of the corrupt deals entered into by the Arroyo administration.

As this developed, Deputy Majority Leader Neptali Gonzales II said the House contingent in the CA will be reorganized to allow the representation of the Liberal Party (LP) bloc.

“I was informed by LP members that Speaker (Prospero) Nograles has committed to allot one CA seat to them and they will in turn withdraw their case from the Supreme Court,” Gonzales said.

“I think they are entitled to one CA representative since they have at least 20 members in the House,” he said. – With Jess Diaz