Citizens Battle Against Corruption (CIBAC) Rep. Joel Villanueva said the continued big revenue losses incurred by the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) may jeopardize Margarito Teves’ bid of retaining his post as Finance secretary.

For 2008, the Cabinet-level Development and Budget Coordinating Committee (DBCC) set a full-year target for the BIR of P844.95 billion, which means the bureau needs to collect at least P70.41 billion per month to reach the DBCC standard. But official figures from BIR Commissioner Lilian Hefti’s office showed a collection of P163 billion for the first quarter of 2008—P56.7 billion for January, P50.9 billion for February and P55.4 billion for March.

“The BIR only averages about P50 billion in monthly collections. That means, for the first quarter, revenue losses could go up to as much as P60 billion already. That is even more than the shortfall for the entire 2007,” Villanueva stressed.

“This is an issue that must be addressed by Secretary Teves before the Commission,” he added.

Earlier, Hefti issued a statement stating that the BIR increased its collection by 14 percent for the first quarter of 2008. Observers, however, pointed out that the 14 percent growth rate was made in comparison to 2007’s first quarter figures and not based on the monthly goals set by the DBCC.

Perennial deficits in tax collections are partly blamed for a bloated national debt, now tipping at P3.7 trillion from only P600.2 billion in 1990 and P2.2 trillion in 2000, according to a study by the Congressional Planning and Budget Department of the House of Representatives.  

Teves’ appointment is still hanging at the Commission on Appointments despite being the Finance secretary for almost three years. Reports have it that former Senator Ralph Recto, who used to head the Senate Committee on Ways and Means, is being considered to replace Teves.