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Friday, December 18, 2020 Vol. 16 No. 71
P25.00 nationwide | 2 sections 40 pages | 7 DAYS A WEEK
‘TOO MANY TRAVEL APPS!’ TOURISM CHIEF COMPLAINS AS LGUs SET VARIED RULES
VISITORS Information and Travel Assistance (Visita) travel app
By Ma. Stella F. Arnaldo | Special to the BusinessMirror
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CHRISTMAS lanterns illuminate the images of passersby wearing face masks to protect themselves against the coronavirus in Las Piñas City. With barely a week left before Christmas, lantern makers in the area complain of slow business due to the high price of raw materials. NONIE REYES
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By Bianca Cuaresma
HE Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) closed the year with a resumption of its “prudent pause” in monetary policy as inflation rises along with optimism for economic recovery pinned on vaccine hopes.
In its last monetary policy meeting for the year, BSP Governor Benjamin Diokno announced the Monetary Board’s decision to
maintain the interest rate on its overnight reverse repurchase facility at 2 percent. The interest rates on the over-
night deposit and lending facilities were likewise kept at 1.5 percent and 2.5 percent, respectively. This is the last BSP monetary policy meeting of the year. Annually, the BSP holds eight meetings every six weeks. For 2020, five of these meetings were rate cuts to bolster monetary policy support for the pandemic-ravaged economy. For this meeting, however, Diokno’s key reference for maintaining policy rates include inflation and the expected pick-up in economic recovery. Diokno said despite the higher-than-expected inflation print
in November, their assessment shows the inflation environment remains benign. “The latest baseline forecasts have risen slightly due to the sharp increase in global crude oil prices and the higher-than-expected food inflation in November. However, since the rise in food prices is transitory, it is expected that the future inflation path will remain firmly within the government’s 2-percent to 4-percent target over the policy horizon,” Diokno said. “The balance of risks to the inflation outlook also leans toward the downside from 2020 to 2022,
OR all her efforts to reopen tourism destinations, Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo Puyat has now taken issue with the numerous and various visitor entry requirements of the different local government (LGUs). In a news conference this week, she cited for instance, that many LGUs have their own travel apps, which tourists have to download on their phones to fill in health declaration forms, book accommodations and register for tours, and submit Covid-19 test results or register for them at the destination they are visiting. “I’ve been traveling around the country, as you know, and each location has its own [travel] app. I’ve downloaded so many on my phone, my screen is already running out of space,” she declared. Aside from the apps, each destination has its own set of health and safety protocols. For instance, in Baguio City, tourists only need to take an antigen test, whereas in other destinations like Bohol, El Nido, or Boracay, visitors have to present negative results of an RT-PCR test. In provinces like Ilocos Sur, not only does the visitor have to present a negative RT-PCR test result, he also has to take an antigen test upon arrival at the border, even though the RT-PCR is the more accurate test to determine the presence of the novel coronavirus in one’s body. Some LGUs also demand medical clearances and travel authorities, while in destinations like Tagaytay, the LGU doesn’t demand any Covid-19 tests or travel passes from visitors. “Since tourists would wish to visit several destinations, it is confusing and cumbersome if LGUs have different apps, protocols and See “Apps,” A2
Continued on A2
BIR collects ₧1.6T in taxes from Jan-Oct By Cai U. Ordinario
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MID a raging pandemic, the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) managed to collect over a trillion pesos worth of taxes in the January to October period this year. In a statement, the BIR said it collected P1.6 trillion from taxes, which is 12.25 percent higher than its goal of P1.4 trillion in the 10-month period. Internal Revenue Commissioner Caesar R. Dulay attributed
the BIR performance to programs such as the Run After Tax Evaders (RATE) Program; closures under “Oplan Kandado” operations of business establishments; and tax assessment/audit activities that entailed issuance of various orders/notices to taxpayers. “We need all the support and cooperation from the taxpaying public. Please help us raise the much-needed revenues for the government especially these trying times. Don’t evade taxes, pay your taxes correctly,” Dulay said.
PESO EXCHANGE RATES n US 48.0590
BIR’s comparative report of collections released on November 24 showed the bureau has constantly exceeded its monthly tax target with an average monthly excess in collections for the first semester of P32.72 million or 0.02 percent. When the third quarter kicked in, the BIR said it registered a larger surplus of P42 billion. The largest surplus was pegged at P70 billion in August while other surpluses reached P23 billion in September; and P38 billion in October.
From January to November 2020, the bureau filed a total of 125 tax cases before the Department of Justice (DOJ) with estimated total tax liabilities of P4.95 billion. Under “Oplan Kandado,” the BIR collected P569.039 million in tax payments through the temporary closure of 189 establishments and the issuance of 981 tax compliance orders/notices for the period January to October 2020. “May this discourage potential offenders from committing tax See “BIR,” A2
n JAPAN 0.4644 n UK 64.9325 n HK 6.1996 n CHINA 7.3571 n SINGAPORE 36.1645 n AUSTRALIA 36.4095 n EU 58.6368 n SAUDI ARABIA 12.8113
Source: BSP (December 17, 2020)