SOLGEN FUMBLED USED CAR IMPORTS CASE - GORDON
Senator Richard Gordon criticized the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) for fumbling the used car importation case. In a recent decision, the Court of Appeals ruled that an executive order prohibiting the importation of used cars was unconstitutional, as there was no law which gave the President the power to prohibit imports.
According to Gordon, “the OSG clearly messed up, because anyone who bothered to read the executive order would know exactly that the President was invoking the Omnibus Investments Code as its basis.”
“This failure by the OSG will only exacerbate the culture of corruption, and the loss of taxes through smuggling in the country. The used car importers are bringing in Pajeros, Benzes, and other luxury vehicles worth hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of pesos. And yet they are only paying around 8,000 pesos in taxes, when they should be paying ten or twenty times as much,” Gordon said adding that, “If the people want someone to blame for the wave of increased taxes that the government has to impose, blame it on the car importers, the government officials who coddle them, and their conspiracy of technical smuggling.”
Executive Order No. 156 was issued by President Arroyo in 2002 to prohibit the importation of used cars. Gordon pointed out that EO No. 156 clearly states that it was based on the Omnibus Investments Code. It states in sec. 7, par. 12, that the President and the Board of Investments “may restrict, either totally or partially, the importation of any equipment or raw materials or finished products involved in the rationalization program”. Gordon said that because it specifically allows the total restriction of imports, the Omnibus Investments Code is thus more than enough basis for EO No. 156.
“Why then is the Court saying that the executive order has no statutory basis?” Gordon questioned.
Gordon lambasted the performance of the OSG in this case for doing “utterly shoddy work.” He said that as the lawyer for the government, it was the duty of the OSG to point out to the Court of Appeals that EO No. 156 was fully supported by the Omnibus Investments Code.
The basis of EO No. 156 in fact is right in front of the eyes of anyone who bothered to read it. It is so patently obvious that the OSG failed to do its homework. Would anyone trust a lawyer who did not even bother to read the law that he was invoking?” Gordon said.
According to Gordon, “the OSG clearly messed up, because anyone who bothered to read the executive order would know exactly that the President was invoking the Omnibus Investments Code as its basis.”
“This failure by the OSG will only exacerbate the culture of corruption, and the loss of taxes through smuggling in the country. The used car importers are bringing in Pajeros, Benzes, and other luxury vehicles worth hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of pesos. And yet they are only paying around 8,000 pesos in taxes, when they should be paying ten or twenty times as much,” Gordon said adding that, “If the people want someone to blame for the wave of increased taxes that the government has to impose, blame it on the car importers, the government officials who coddle them, and their conspiracy of technical smuggling.”
Executive Order No. 156 was issued by President Arroyo in 2002 to prohibit the importation of used cars. Gordon pointed out that EO No. 156 clearly states that it was based on the Omnibus Investments Code. It states in sec. 7, par. 12, that the President and the Board of Investments “may restrict, either totally or partially, the importation of any equipment or raw materials or finished products involved in the rationalization program”. Gordon said that because it specifically allows the total restriction of imports, the Omnibus Investments Code is thus more than enough basis for EO No. 156.
“Why then is the Court saying that the executive order has no statutory basis?” Gordon questioned.
Gordon lambasted the performance of the OSG in this case for doing “utterly shoddy work.” He said that as the lawyer for the government, it was the duty of the OSG to point out to the Court of Appeals that EO No. 156 was fully supported by the Omnibus Investments Code.
The basis of EO No. 156 in fact is right in front of the eyes of anyone who bothered to read it. It is so patently obvious that the OSG failed to do its homework. Would anyone trust a lawyer who did not even bother to read the law that he was invoking?” Gordon said.
posted by OlongapoCity Zambales at
9:14 AM
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