SAYS SANTIAGO
RP inclined to ratify taxation, legal assistance treaties
By Veronica Uy
INQUIRER.net
First Posted 17:34:00 05/08/2008
MANILA, Philippines -- The Senate is inclined to ratify the treaties on taxation and legal assistance the Philippines signed with various countries, Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago said Thursday.
The government has negotiated with Spain, Korea, and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations the Mutual Legal Assistance Treaties (MLATs) and the Avoidance of Double Taxation Treaties (ADTTs) with the United Arab Emirates, Japan, and New Zealand, Santiago said after a hearing on these international agreements.
Manila has similar agreements with other countries -- four earlier MLATs and 36 earlier ADTTs -- and the Senate is likely to concur in their ratification without much fuss, said Santiago, chair of the Senate foreign relations committee.
The MLATs allow for assistance in criminal proceedings like looking for some witnesses, certain documents and assets, while the ADTTs stops the host country from charging foreign investors taxes already levied by their countries of origin. ADTTs are meant to encourage foreign investments.
However, in the case of the MLAT with Spain, Santiago asked the Department of Foreign Affairs to explain why it is different from the other two MLATs as it allows cooperation even for acts or omissions not considered as crimes in the Philippines.
The MLAT with Spain also allows for grounds for denying assistance, and the senator wants the DFA to define this exception on "political cases."
She asked the DFA to submit its response to her unanswered questions within seven days, so she could respond to such questions from her colleagues when she defends the treaties on the Senate floor.
According to the DFA panel at the hearing, the Philippines has MLATs with the United States, Australia, Switzerland, and Hong Kong. It has ADTTs with 36 countries, among them The Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Poland, and Belgium.
ASEAN groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Viet Nam.
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