MANILA: The petite sharp-shooting bureaucrat in charge of getting Filipinos to pay their fair share of taxes couldn't have chosen a higher profile target: Manny Pacquiao, the world champion boxer and hero to millions.
The pursuit of the boxer and congressman made a striking statement that no one was above the law, but it wasn't universally popular. One of Pacquiao's fellow congressmen proposed legislation to give him a lifetime tax exemption because his sporting feats had inspired the country.
Kim Henares, the chief tax collector, has remained steadfast in her campaign against the boxer, who was listed as the country's wealthiest member of Congress last year.
"I want everyone to become rich, but they should pay the right taxes. They should not become rich at the expense of government," she said.
The Philippine economy grew 7.2 percent last year, the second fastest in Asia after China, but government revenue has fallen short of expectations in a country where decades of corrupt and inefficient government allowed a culture of tax evasion to flourish.
Now a reform-minded president wants to rake in more taxes to pay for increased spending on much needed infrastructure and public services such as health and education.
The 53-year-old straight-talking Commissioner of the Bureau of Internal Revenue has shifted her agency into "law enforcement mode" with an aggressive anti-tax evasion campaign to catch cheats and raise collections.
Henares is a lawyer and accountant whose hobbies include weekly trips to the firing range where she shoots off automatic pistols and assault rifles. Shooting has become one of her favorite pastimes since she was appointed in July 2010 by President Benigno Aquino III, a gun aficionado who introduced her to the sport.
She has several armed presidential guards assigned by Aquino for her security but also wanted to be confident in handling a gun if a situation ever required it.
"I shoot combat, which is fast," she said at a gun range recently where she fired 300 rounds from her SVI Infinity .40 caliber pistol. "I have very good teachers, including the president."
While improving her marksmanship she also expanded the targets of her non-lethal campaign. She has since charged scores of individuals and companies in more than 210 tax evasion cases to collect 50 billion pesos ($1.1 billion), a significant addition to government coffers that last year received 1.253 trillion pesos ($28 billion) in taxes.
A World Bank report last year praised the government's "strong initial gains" in its tax effort.
A senior bank economist, however, said the improvements needed to become entrenched to translate into lasting gains for the country's poor.
The government's ambitions for spending on infrastructure and public services such as health and education could be largely met by increased tax revenue, said senior bank economist Karl Kendrick Chua.
The country's tax collection rate is currently about 14 percent of GDP, which is lower than its more developed neighbors Thailand and Malaysia, and down from 18 percent in 1997. The government wants to raise it to between 16 percent and 18 percent by 2016.
Henares admits to an unorthodox approach to finding targets for tax evasion investigations: she scours the country's newspapers and magazines for tales of the rich and famous.
"My deputy commissioner says I am such a gossip," she said. "You have to be in tune with everything that's happening around you so that you're aware who should logically be paying a high tax."
Henares' agency also publishes newspaper advertisements listing companies allegedly cheating on tax as part of a name-and-shame campaign. She says there are two things that make Filipinos comply with rules — fear and shame.
A recent campaign targeted some self-employed professionals that the government alleges are not paying their way. They portrayed an online trader who pays no tax riding on the shoulders of a construction foreman. Another featured a school teacher carrying a doctor who cheats on her tax.
"I think everybody agrees that Kim has really brought a lot of fear into the tax payers' consciousness," said former finance official and clean governance activist Milwida Guevara. "Tax payers now know that there is a possibility that the bureau of internal revenue will go after them."
Henares recently filed a case demanding 2.72 billion pesos ($60 million) from a gold trader who allegedly didn't pay taxes from 2005 to 2009. She has also filed charges against a former congressman and son of Aquino's predecessor, Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, and impeached Supreme Court Chief Justice Renato Corona.
But her most controversial target has been Pacquiao, the well-loved Bible-quoting boxer.
When Pacquiao publicly disclosed in November that Henares froze his bank accounts and that he had no money to purchase relief supplies for victims of Typhoon Haiyan, many of his fans and some fellow congressmen expressed sympathy for him and criticized Henares.
Though he is not yet charged with any criminal tax offense, the Bureau of Internal Revenue has demanded that Pacquiao pay 2.2 billion pesos ($49.2 million), including interest and surcharges, for unpaid taxes in 2008-2009.
Pacquiao has disputed the tax assessment at the Court of Tax Appeals where he also sought access to his bank accounts.
Henares said the amounts were based on media reports of Pacquiao's reported earnings in 2008 and 2009. Forbes Magazine listed Pacquiao as the world's sixth highest-paid athlete in 2009.
He was in the 14th spot in 2013, with earnings of $34 million.
"It's for Manny Pacquiao to prove to us that those reports are wrong," she said.
Philippine tax collector guns for higher revenues
Philippine tax collector guns for higher revenues
Pakistan court grants bail to journalist detained after probing protest, lawyer says
- Matiullah Jan was picked up off the street on Wednesday night while investigating claims of casualties in a protest march
- The Committee to Protect Journalists had expressed ‘grave alarm’ over Jan’s ‘abduction,’ demanding his immediate release
Matiullah Jan, a critic of military influence in Pakistani politics, was granted bail by an anti-terrorism court in the capital Islamabad in a terrorism and narcotics case, his lawyer, Imaan Mazari, said in a text message.
“He should be home by this evening,” Mazari said.
Jan was picked up off the street on Wednesday night while investigating claims of casualties in a protest march demanding the release of jailed ex-Prime Minister Imran Khan, according to a colleague and his lawyer.
The Committee to Protect Journalists had expressed “grave alarm” over Jan’s “abduction,” demanding his immediate release.
Hours before being picked up, Jan had appeared on television casting doubt over the government’s denial that live ammunition had been used when security forces dispersed the protest and that any protesters had been killed.
The government has repeatedly denied using deadly force against protesters. Police and the information ministry have not responded to request for comment on Jan’s detention.
Thousands of supporters of Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party this week stormed Islamabad. The government said they had killed four security officers.
The PTI said hundreds of protesters had been shot, and between eight and 40 killed.
Taiwan’s Lai departs for US stopover during Pacific trip
- China considers self-governed Taiwan to be part of its territory
- Beijing opposes any international recognition of the island
TAIPEI: Taiwan President Lai Ching-te departed Saturday for a stopover on US soil as part of a week-long tour of the Pacific, which has ignited fiery threats from Beijing.
China considers self-governed Taiwan to be part of its territory and opposes any international recognition of the island and its claim to be a sovereign state.
Lai, on his first trip abroad since taking office in May, will stop over in Hawaii and the US territory of Guam as he visits Taiwan’s allies Marshall Islands, Tuvalu and Palau.
They are the only Pacific island nations among the 12 remaining allies that recognize Taiwan, after China poached others with promises of aid and investment.
In a speech shortly before take-off, Lai said the tour “ushered in a new era of values-based democracy” and he thanked the US government for “helping to make this trip a smooth one.”
Lai said he wanted to “continue to expand cooperation and deepen partnerships with our allies based on the values of democracy, peace and prosperity.”
The trip has elicited a furious response from China, which has vowed to “resolutely crush” any attempts for Taiwan independence.
China and Taiwan have been ruled separately since 1949 when Chiang Kai-shek’s nationalist forces were defeated by Mao Zedong’s communist fighters and fled to the island.
Taiwan lives under the constant threat of an invasion by China, which has refused to rule out using force to bring the island under its control.
Beijing deploys fighter jets, drones and warships around Taiwan on a near-daily basis to press its claims, with the number of sorties increasing in recent years.
Taiwanese government officials have previously stopped over on US soil during visits to the Pacific or Latin America, angering China, which has sometimes responded with military drills around the island.
Lai’s tour of the Pacific was an opportunity for him “to show those countries and the world that Taiwan matters,” said Bonnie Glaser, a Taiwan-China affairs expert at the German Marshall Fund of the United States.
“I think that the People’s Republic of China always wants to leave the impression that Taiwan is isolated and it is dependent on the PRC,” Glaser told AFP, using China’s official name.
“When Taiwan’s president travels outside Taiwan, it’s a reminder that there are countries in the world that value their diplomatic relationships with Taiwan,” she said.
“And of course, when he transits the United States, it’s a reminder, I think, to the public of Taiwan, that the United States and Taiwan have a close partnership.”
The US is Taiwan’s most important backer and biggest supplier of arms, but Washington does not have official diplomatic relations with Taipei.
Lai’s trip follows the US approving the proposed sale to Taiwan of spare parts for F-16 fighter jets and radar systems, as well as communications equipment, in deals valued at $385 million in total.
Earlier this month, Taiwan’s foreign minister Lin Chia-lung met with European Parliament members in Brussels.
It was part of a trend of more senior Taiwanese officials traveling abroad and countries publicly receiving them despite the risk of suffering retaliation from China, Glaser told AFP.
“I think there’s safety in numbers — the more countries that do something, the more that other countries are willing to do it,” Glaser said.
“There’s also greater awareness of how aggressive and assertive China has been, and so countries are willing, to some extent, to stand up to China because they don’t like China’s behavior,” she said.
“And there is recognition of Taiwan’s role in the world, especially in semiconductor chips.”
More than 100 Rohingya refugees rescued off Indonesia: UN
- Indonesia is not a signatory to the UN refugee convention and says it cannot be compelled to take in refugees from Myanmar
Banda Aceh: More than 100 Rohingya refugees including women and children have been rescued after their boat sank off the coast of Indonesia, the United Nations refugee agency said Saturday.
The mostly Muslim ethnic Rohingya are heavily persecuted in Myanmar and thousands risk their lives each year on long and dangerous sea journeys to reach Malaysia or Indonesia.
“We received a report from the East Aceh government that there are 116 refugees in total,” UNHCR’s Faisal Rahman told AFP on Saturday.
“The refugees are still on the beach right now, it has not been decided where they would be taken.”
He said the flimsy wooden boat carrying the Rohingyas was found half-submerged not far from the beach off the coast of northeastern Sumatra island.
A local fisherman, Saifudin Taher said the boat was first spotted entering East Aceh waters on Saturday morning, and a few hours later it nearly sank.
“All passengers survived, but one of them was ill and ...immediately received treatment,” Saifudin told AFP, adding the boat was only 100 meters away from the beach, and the refugees could walk easily to safety.
Rohingya arrivals in Indonesia tend to follow a cyclical pattern, slowing during the stormy months and picking back up when sea conditions calm down.
Last month, 152 Rohingya refugees were finally brought ashore after being anchored for days off the coast of South Aceh district for days while officials decided whether to let them land.
Indonesia is not a signatory to the UN refugee convention and says it cannot be compelled to take in refugees from Myanmar, calling instead on neighboring countries to share the burden and resettle Rohingya who arrives on its shores.
Many Acehnese, who have memories of decades of bloody conflict themselves, are sympathetic to the plight of their fellow Muslims.
But others say their patience has been tested, claiming the Rohingya consume scarce resources and occasionally come into conflict with locals.
In December 2023, hundreds of students forced the relocation of more than 100 Rohingya refugees, storming a community hall in Aceh where they were sheltering and vandalising their belongings.
Georgia police say 107 people arrested at pro-EU protest
- The Black Sea nation has been rocked by turmoil since the ruling Georgian Dream party claimed victory in a Oct. 26 parliamentary election
TBILISI: Georgia on Saturday said 107 people were arrested during a second day of protests sparked by the government’s decision to delay European Union membership talks amid a post-election crisis.
The Black Sea nation has been rocked by turmoil since the ruling Georgian Dream party claimed victory in a October 26 parliamentary election that the pro-EU opposition said was fraudulent.
The interior ministry said 107 people were detained for “disobedience to lawful police orders and petty hooliganism.”
“Throughout the night... protesters threw various objects, including stones, pyrotechnics, glass bottles, and metal items, at law enforcement officers,” it said, adding that “10 employees of the ministry of internal affairs were injured.”
It had said that 32 police officers were wounded and 43 protesters detained on Thursday.
Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze’s statement Thursday that Georgia will not seek to open accession talks with the European Union until 2028 ignited a furious reaction from the opposition and two days of protests.
He later accused the opposition and the EU ambassador to Georgia of distorting his words, and insisted membership in the bloc “by 2030” remains his “top priority.”
On Friday, AFP reporters saw riot police fire water cannon and tear gas at pro-EU protesters gathered outside the parliament in Tbilisi who tossed eggs and fireworks.
Clashes broke out later between protesters and police, who moved in to clear the area outside parliament, beating demonstrators, some of whom threw objects.
Independent TV station Pirveli said one of its journalists covering the protest was hospitalized with serious injuries.
Protests were also held in other cities across Georgia on Friday, independent TV station Mtavari reported.
At least eight demonstrators were arrested in Georgia’s second-largest city, Batumi, local media said.
Opposition lawmakers have questioned the results of the election.
Brussels has demanded an investigation into what it said were “serious (electoral) irregularities.”
Pro-Western opposition parties are boycotting the new parliament, while President Salome Zurabishvili has sought to annul the election results through the country’s constitutional court.
In recent years, critics accuse Georgian Dream – in power for more than a decade – of having moved the country away from Europe and closer to Russia.
Floods displace 122,000 people in Malaysia
- The number surpassed the 118,000 displaced during one of the country’s worst floodings in 2014
Kuala Lumpur: More than 122,000 people have been forced out of their homes as massive floods caused by relentless rains swept through Malaysia’s northern states, disaster officials said Saturday.
The number surpassed the 118,000 displaced during one of the country’s worst floodings in 2014, and disaster officials feared it could rise further as there was no let-up in torrential downpours.
The death toll remained at four recorded across Kelantan, Terengganu and Sarawak.
Kelantan state bore the brunt of the flooding, accounting for 63 percent of the 122,631 people displaced, according to data from the National Disaster Management Agency.
There were nearly 35,000 people evacuated in Terengganu, with the rest of the displacements reported from seven other states.
Heavy rains, which began early this week, continued to hammer Pasir Puteh town in Kelantan, where people could be seen walking through streets inundated with hip-deep waters.
“My area has been flooded since Wednesday. The water has already reached my house corridor and is just two inches away from coming inside,” Pasir Puteh resident and school janitor Zamrah Majid, 59, told AFP.
“Luckily, I moved my two cars to a higher ground before the water level rose.”
She said she allowed her grandchildren to play in the water in front of his house because it was still shallow.
“But if the water gets higher, it would be dangerous, I’m afraid they might get swept away,” she added.
“I haven’t received any assistance yet, whether it’s welfare or other kinds of help.”
Muhammad Zulkarnain, 27, who is living with his parents in Pasir Puteh, said they were isolated.
“There’s no way in or out of for any vehicles to enter my neighborhood,” he told AFP.
“Of course I’m scared... Luckily we have received some assistance from NGOs, they gave us food supplies like biscuits, instant noodles, and eggs.”
Floods are an annual phenomenon in the Southeast Asian nation of 34 million people due to the northeast monsoon that brings heavy rain from November to March.
Thousands of emergency services personnel have been deployed in flood-prone states along with rescue boats, four-wheel-drive vehicles and helicopters, said Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, who chairs the National Disaster Management Committee.
