The Taxman As Public Servant

When The President Invited Guillermo Parayno Jr. to head the Bureau of Internal Revenue, he wrote her a three-page letter about why he wasn’t the right man for the job.

"I always felt that working for the government wasn‘t the best way to help our country," he says matter-of-factly. "I came here against my wishes."

That was September 2002, and although he cannot declare outright that he eventually grew to love his job, he has stayed on and made his mark in the agency. He is, however, cautious about how long he will remain in the position. "I’ll answer that once the elections are over," he laughs.

Parayno is seen by many as an odd man out. His reputation for honesty seems incongruous with his position as Commissioner of Internal Rev-enue. He is too honest at times, in fact, that he has made a lot of enemies. There is that near-myth story about his turning in classmates at the Asian Institute of Management (aim) for cheating during exams. His classmates, especially those who were dismissed, may not have liked him much as a result, but he was awarded Most Outstanding Alumni of the aim in 1983.

On the other hand, his reputation for honesty has also made him a lot of friends, and earned him the respect of even some detractors.

Parayno has held a string of sensitive and corruption-prone positions. The Bureau of Internal Revenue (bir) is generally regarded as one of the most corrupt agencies in the government. Parayno also headed, from 1992 to 1998, another agency high on the corruption list: the Bureau of Customs. Prior to that, he was regional director of the Department of Finance’s economic Intelligence and Investigation Bureau (eiib), in charge of "the detection and prevention of illegal activites that undermine the economic well-being of the country", in other words, smuggling.

By all accounts, Parayno has fared pretty well in these vipers’ nests, where, it is said, honesty is not part of the vocabulary.

"I think that notion is greatly exaggerated," he says. "This doesn‘t mean I’m discounting the fact that the BIR and Customs have their share of corrupt practices. But most of the basis for that perception is ‘surveys of perception’. And we have the media to blame for that.

"TV and newspapers always have horror stories about the departments and I can understand that–it‘s a far sexier angle than doing a feature on our latest tax program. But they’re not even based on fact," he adds, shaking his head.

His supporters, however, believe that the commissioner shouldn‘t beat himself up about it. Since he assumed the post, the bureau has faced considerably fewer issues about corruption and has even slightly improved in the satisfaction ratings.

Aside from gains in public perception, Parayno says that, more importantly, the BIR has raised revenues for the government through effective and efficient collection of taxes.

It has reported a significant increase in collection of P32 billion, and the ratio of growth in collection to the GDP is 1.9–an impressive number considering that it had been "less than one" between the years 1996 and 2001.

"My short stay here in the BIR has been truly blessed," Parayno admits. "And I’m confident that we’ll do even better this year."

Guillermo shares that the combination of being raised in a poor family and studying at the Philippine Military Academy (PMA) instilled in him a stubborn streak of honesty.

"Being less fortunate than others made me appreciate the smallest things," he says. "It didn‘t take much to please me. And during my days at the PMA, I learned the importance of morality and virtue."

The commissioner admits that he has been offered bribes, but "they eventually stop when it finally sinks into them that it is useless with me". And when the bribes didn’t work, the death threats came along , but he learned to live with them too.

"There was a time when many wanted to eliminate me. Ang dami ko dating natanggap na mga death threats. But I knew this too shall pass, and I was right. In fact, the very people who wanted me out began to have respect for me," he discloses. "I thought it was also odd at first, but I later realized that sticking to my principles was the wisest thing I did. Those people naturally still disliked my ways, but since I was doing my job honestly, they finally accepted it."

That’s fine on a personal basis, but there is still the issue of corruption within the institution. Parayno says that he has a similar and likewise effective style in fighting it. Calling himself a "behavioral engineer", he believes the best weapon against crooked officials is "eliminating all the opportunities" that make them corrupt in the first place.

"I systematically put in measures" he explains. "I engineer the environment and draw out the good behavior while suppressing the bad. That‘s the main key."

He has, in fact, been so successful that he has been invited to lecture on anti-corruption programs at international organizations like the Asian development bank and the World bank.

He cites a specific example: "When I first became commissioner, I found out that a major source of corruption and bribery comes from lower BIR personnel‘s tax auditing. It wasn‘t easy, but I stopped this practice."

The other half of corruption in tax collection is, of course, the taxpayer, or rather, the non-payer. And here the commissioner has found a good solution to this problem in a new computer system that enables the agency to identify those people violating the tax law. And it has been quite effective thus far.

In the short period that the computer was used, about 10,000 tax evaders have already been identified. -arayno prefers to call them "non-compliants".

"I‘m always on my toes and on the alert. And that‘s part of the reason why we are able to accomplish the goals we set," he says with pride. "We‘ve finally brought some of these violators to justice."

Of those people identified in the BIR‘s computer system, about 30 percent of them come from the business sector. "It‘s sad, but most of us Filipinos still avoid paying our taxes. But I‘m trying to do something about it."

While Parayno maintains that his department "gives quality service to taxpayers", such can hardly be said of most other agencies of government.

A survey conducted by a university showed that middle-class citizens feel that they‘re not getting enough in return for paying their taxes, and it is safe to say that the average taxpayer is not happy. Dissatisfaction with government service thus breeds non-payment of taxes. And this notion irritates Parayno.

"That‘s bulls–t. That‘s an alibi," he exclaims. "It‘s a chicken and egg thing, you see? You can‘t have service first before paying taxes!"

"In working for the government, one must remember that he or she should never see it as an opportunity to make a lot of money," Parayno insists. "What you get, if anything at all, is the satisfaction of serving the public well and making a difference."

The former boxing champion and multi-awarded PMA graduate goes by a strict and demanding work code. "I‘m one of the earliest to arrive here in the office. I‘m up and running even before 7 a.m.," he reveals. "I’m also the last to leave. It’s a lonely job, to say the least. I had to give up a lot with this job. And I‘m just glad it benefits the public. It‘s still a great feeling despite it all."

While he takes justifiable pride in the gains the Bureau has achieved in the past year and a half, there‘s still a lot of work to be done, and the commissioner knows this only too well.

It should bring some comfort and encouragement to taxpayers as they fill out their income tax forms this week that, paradox though it may be, honesty is after all not a lost virtue at the BIR.