Beltran named first PTA president (Sabong News)

Beltran named first PTA president By CHINO S. LEYCO The Board of Trustees of the Philippine Tax Academy (PTA) has unanimously voted to elect Department of Finance (DOF) Chief Economist and retired Undersecretary Gil S. Beltran as the institution’s first president. Finance Secretary and PTA Board of Trustees Chairman Carlos G. Dominguez III nominated Beltran, who will serve up to June 30, 2022, without prejudice to his subsequent reappointment in the next administration. Retired Finance Assistant Secretary Ma. Teresa Habitan was also appointed as Chancellor of the PTA. Beltran was first appointed by President Duterte as a member of the PTA Board of Trustees representing the academe on Jan. 18, 2022. Prior to his appointment as PTA President, Beltran was the DOF Undersecretary for the Policy Development and Management Services Group (PDMSG). Beltran also previously served as the Undersecretary for the DOF’s Corporate Affairs Group (CAG) and Privatization Office. On secondment at the World Bank, Beltran served in various positions, including as Alternate Executive Director (January 2003-January 2005), Advisor to the Executive Director (February to May 1995, August-November 1990), and as Secretary of the Intergovernmental Committee of the Group of 24 on International Monetary and Financial Affairs Bureau in Washington DC. Beltran was also a visiting lecturer at the University of the Philippines (UP), and a lecturer at the Development Academy of the Philippines (DAP). Habitan, who will serve as one of three Chancellors of the PTA, served as the Assistant Secretary for the DOF’s Domestic Finance Group (DFG), where she was responsible for fiscal policy formulation and fiscal planning. She also worked as an Advisor and Alternate Executive Director at the WB. Under Republic Act (RA) No. 10143, the PTA “shall serve as a learning institution for tax collectors and administrators of the government and selected applicants from the private sector.” This law also mandates that “all existing officials and personnel of the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR), the Bureau of Customs (BOC), and the Bureau of Local Government Finance (BLGF) shall be required to undergo the re-tooling and enhancement seminars and training programs to be conducted by the PTA. All applicants to the said bureaus shall also be required to pass the basic courses before they can be hired whether on contractual or permanent status.” The PTA Board of Trustees also includes as co-vice chairpersons BIR Commissioner Caesar Dulay and BOC Commissioner Rey Leonardo Guerrero, and BLGF Executive Director Niño Raymond Alvina as member. The seats for the two other representatives of the academe have yet to be filled.