CSC okays appointments of PTA top execs

The Civil Service Commission (CSC) has approved the appointments of the executive officers of the Philippine Tax Academy (PTA), including the president and the three chancellors of the institution.

PTA President and Department of Finance (DOF) Chief Economist Gil Beltran said the CSC cleared the appointments of the chancellor for the Local Government Finance Institute, and the 2 chancellors for the Customs Institute of the Academy.

“As part of our mandate, the PTA will provide a series of lectures on taxation, the circulars of the Bureau of Customs (BOC) and Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) on importation, money remittances, and investment-related processes to the Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority (TIEZA) investment sector,” said Beltran.

Beltran updated Finance Secretary and PTA Board of Trustees Chairman Carlos Dominguez III on the activities of the Academy during a recent DOF Executive Committee (Execom) meeting.

The PTA Board of Trustees earlier elected Beltran as the institution’s first president.

Retired DOF Assistant Secretary Ma. Teresa Habitan, who like Beltran was involved in the crafting of the Duterte administration’s comprehensive tax reform program (CTRP), was also appointed as Chancellor of the PTA.

Under Republic Act (RA) No. 10143, the PTA “shall serve as a learning institution for tax collectors and administrators of the government and selected applicants from the private sector.”

This law also mandates that “all existing officials and personnel of the BIR, the BOC, and the Bureau of Local Government Finance (BLGF) shall be required to undergo the re-tooling and enhancement seminars and training programs to be conducted by the PTA. All applicants to the said bureaus shall also be required to pass the basic courses before they can be hired whether on contractual or permanent status.”

The PTA Board of Trustees also includes as co-vice chairpersons BIR Commissioner Caesar Dulay and BOC Commissioner Rey Leonardo Guerrero, and BLGF Executive Director Niño Raymond Alvina as member.

The seats for the two other representatives of the academe have yet to be filled.