New tax training center eyed at UPLB campus

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Finance (DOF) is eyeing the possibility of establishing the next Philippine Tax Academy (PTA) campus at the University of the Philippines-Los Baños in Laguna, a top official said.

According to Finance Undersecretary Gil Beltran, the PTA has partnered with UPLB for a joint program for the training of the country’s revenue officers and possible sharing of facilities inside the UPLB campus.

He said the PTA is now studying the possibility of using UPLB’s College of Public Affairs and Development (CPAD) facilities near the Local Government Academy to help set up the training center.

Beltran said the PTA has also submitted to the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) its three-year Strategic Information Plan, which includes the setting up an information system for the academy to facilitate knowledge sharing.

Launched in February this year, the institution – the first of its kind in the country – will provide continuing training to the country’s revenue collectors and administrators to improve their competitiveness, and also sharpen their commitment to their profession and raise their ethical standards.

He said the establishment of the academy is part of the administration’s efforts in professionalizing revenue agencies.

Dominguez said he expects the PTA to collect information from all over the world and build strong linkages. He also wants the PTA to be a tool for developing coordination with other professional associations, development and funding institutions, as well as foreign governments.

The establishment of the PTA is in compliance with Republic Act 10143, which was signed almost seven years ago. The law states that the academy should serve as the nation’s learning institution for tax collectors and administrators from the government and selected applicants from the private sectors.

The first branches of the planned PTA was established at the University of Makati (UMak) and UP-Diliman.

UMak was chosen as the main campus of the PTA, while the UP College of Economics would offer executive program certificate courses to interested DOF employees.

Set up as a corporate body, the PTA is authorized under the law to enter into consortium agreements and joint venture agreements with public and private universities and training institutions for the development and implementation of the curriculum, and career development.