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Gandarosa to fight for seat as BIR-16, order has no effectivity date

October 29, 2008

By Lizanilla J. Amarga

Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) collection district 16 regional director Mustapha Gandarosa vowed that he will hold on to his seat and will not be pressured from stepping out of his current office despite the issuance of an order from his superiors relieving him of his present duties and reassigning him to be chief of staff of the Special Concerns Division of their head office.
Revenue Travel Assignment Order No. 212-2008 was issued by Internal Revenue Comissioner Lilian Hefti and approved by Finance Secretary Margarito Teves last October 20, 2008 in answer to the demands of the local businesspeople who organized themselves under Coalition of Chambers of Commerce and Industries in Northern Mindanao and called for Gandarosa’s immediate ouster as the latter has allegedly been harassing them in the assessment and collection of their taxes.
Gandarosa said he welcomes the issuance of the above order as it would mean he can stay as regional director and be exempted from their agency’s attrition law wherein he could stand to lose the millions of pesos in retirement benefits and other perks he is entitled to for the numerous years he served several high-paying government positions such as that of his 13 years stint as a foreign revenue attache in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to mention a few .
“The order is a big relief from stress on my part particularly in making sure that we meet our target collection in Northern Mindanao this year,” he said.
He explained that the attrition law provides for immediate dismissal without receiving any retirement benefits for any BIR district regional director who failed to meet his or her annual target for the particular year and has failed to provide a satisfactory explanation as to such failure.
Gandarosa said this as he furnished this paper a copy of the order relieving him of his present position and he showed that the same does not have a definite effectivity date on when he should step down.
He pointed out how the first order contains his reassignment order while the two-paragraph order only ends by saying: “Before leaving for his new assignment, he must first comply with the requirements of Revenue Memorandum Order Nos. 58-75 and 36-67 dated October 27, 1975 and Novemeber 10, 1987, respectively, regarding inventory of pending papers, correspondence and property responsibilities in his possession.”
“Complying all these requirements can still take time…but I would like to make it a point that no businessman or politician can pressure me to leave my office,” he said adding that, this in effect, will mean that his detractors will have to wait for April 24, 2009 when by law he is scheduled to retire having reached 65 years old.
But Coalition spokesperson Atty. Oscar Musni and City Hall’s Committee on Trade and Industry chairperson City Councilor Atty. Ramon Tabor yesterday countered Gandarosa’s statement citing laws of construction when it comes to interpreting the effectivity dates of official orders and memorandums.
Musni said he has yet to see the above order but that it is unlikely that it has no effectivity date.
“Or it might be that it is effective immediately or upon receipt, in which case there is no date indicated,” he said.
Tabor for his part said it is a general rule in orders and memorandums that in the absence of an effectivity date signifies that it is effective upon the date of it is issued or signed by the issuing authority.
“Had the issuing authority had intended another date as its effectivity it should have clearly and specifically indcate that this memo order or takes effect, say, 15 or 30 days after,” he said.
Gandarosa said he will also contest the above order in the proper tribunals and even wait it out until the Supreme Court has its final say on the whole matter.
He said the legal battle can even mean a possible extension in office beyond his retirement schedule this April 24, 2009.
“I have to clear my name and reputation. I have done nothing wrong,” he said as he clarified that the position of chief of staff of the Special Concerns Division is only equal to his current post.
For their part, Musni and Tabor replied that Gandarosa always has the prerogative to seek legal remedies in the courts of law.
Tabor added that Gandarosa should be advised that going to the judicial courts to question the order is “premature” as all administrative remedies must be exhausted.

Written by admin · Filed Under Cagayan de Oro 

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