35 BIR officers may lose jobs due to collection shortfall

MANILA, Philippines – At least 35 revenue collection officers of the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) are in danger of losing their jobs due to collection shortfalls in 2007, Quezon Rep. Danilo Suarez said yesterday.

“We have reviewed the performance of BIR collection officers under the Attrition Law. Our assessment is that at least 35 of them will face punishment for incurring shortfalls,” he told reporters.

Suarez chairs the House oversight committee which is overseeing the implementation of the Attrition Law, of which he was a co- author.

Actually, the ways and means committee, chaired by Antique Rep. Exequiel Javier, also exercises oversight function over revenue agencies. The two committees thus have overlapping functions.

Suarez said both BIR and Bureau of Customs have incurred shortfalls in 2007.

Under the Attrition Law, officers unable to meet their collection targets may be subject to punishment ranging from reassignment to layoff.

In case they exceed their targets, the officers get rewards in kind.

Suarez said in the case of Customs, it overshot its collection goal in 2006 and received a reward of more than P500 million that was shared by its personnel.

He said if the two revenue agencies continue their poor performance, the Attrition Law might catch up with higher officers, including commissioners.

A group of Customs personnel has questioned the law before the Supreme Court, saying it violates their right to job security and that it is unconstitutional.

Some Customs and BIR officials have also questioned Suarez’s interference in the enforcement of the Attrition Law, which they said is a function of executive officials and not of members of Congress.

“This is implementation. His job is lawmaking,” one officer said.

The law vests the power of implementation on a board chaired by the secretary of finance, with the budget secretary as one of its members.