By JEAMMA E. SABATE
Charges of tax evasion for alleged failure to pay millions of pesos in Value Added Tax (VAT) for the past 15 years, were filed against the president and 14 board members of a marketing association.
Charged were Tomas C. Banguis Jr., president of the Philippine Marketing Association (PMA), and 14 of its board members: Erlinda B. de Guzman, Lizzane C. Uychaco, Alexander Flores, Frederick Alegre, Virgilio Ajero, Jaime Sibauco, Herminio del Rosario, Cergen D. Go, Edith Dychiao, Gina Luengas, Arlene Martinez, Mylene Abiva-Sazon, Vivian Fautino, and Edwin Mapanao. The PMA holds its office at the Philippine Stock Exchange Center, West Tektite Towers, Unit 1006, Exchange Road, Ortigas Center, Pasig City.
Lawyer Manuel Oyson III, president of the Philippine Marketing Excellence Awards (PMEA), filed the charges citing the anomalous entries in the financial statements submitted by PMA.
Oyson claimed that PMA earns about P23 million each year from its business activities. To avoid payment of the VAT, the PMA through its Board of Directors deliberately failed to disclose its revenues of P23 million each year and instead, enter this amount in the footnotes of its financial statements under an entry ''excess (shortage) of projects,'' according to Oyson.
The defendants in their Statement of Revenues reported only the following revenues for 2003 and 2004: P4,058,920 and P3,736,012, respectively, referring to such revenues as representing membership fees.
Oyson said ''In truth, the PMA has been cheating the Philippine government and the Filipinos of no less than P2,300,000 in VAT payments for more than 15 years or a staggering sum of P34,500,000 in unpaid VAT for which the PMA and its Board of Directors should be liable for massive tax evasion and perhaps for economic sabotage."
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