‘CERTIFY URGENT EASE OF PAYING TAXES MEASURE’

By Maricel V. Cruz

ALBAY Rep. Joey Sarte Salceda on Saturday asked President Ferdinand Marcos Jr to certify as urgent the Ease of Paying Taxes Act that is now being deliberated in the Senate as Senate Bill 2224.

Salceda, chair of the House committee on ways and means and the lower chamber’s resident economist, said this is to allow the bill to be approved on 2nd and 3rd reading in one day in the Senate plenary. The House already approved its version under HB 4125, which Salceda principally authored.

“I think it’s time to modernize the way we administer taxes. Bringing the tax system into the 21st century will be a PBBM legacy. So, respectfully, I request the President to certify this measure as urgent, considering that he has already mentioned this as a priority in both SONAs,” Salceda said.

Salceda added that “most of the key issues have already been settled anyway, including the concern among enterprises that the shift to an invoice-only system would cost those who are unable to get their receivables on time.”

The measure is in the period of interpellation in the Senate.

DISASTER SIMULATOR. Computer Engineering students from the Polytechnic University of the Philippines wear Virtual Reality (VR) headsets to simulate and experience an earthquake inside the Muntinlupa City’s Department of Disaster Resilience and Management mobile hub during a three-day forum and expo, which aimed to educate participants on the most up-to-date disaster information and early warnings at the World Trade Center in Pasay City on Saturday.