Cebuano engineer in Libya seeks help from Lapulapu City Gov’t
200 other Filipinos still trapped in power plant in Libya amid continuing political unrest
CEBU CITY, 28 February (PIA) - A Cebuano engineer from Barangay Marigondon, Lapulapu City sought the help of the local government of Lapulapu City to rescue him and 200 other Filipino workers still trapped within the building of the power plant company they work for in Sirit City, Libya amid the continuing domestic political unrest.
Paul Espinosa, a geodetic engineer who works for Sejong Co. was able to call his sister Janet last Thursday in Lapulapu City desperately asking for help and to also seek the aid of the city government as no efforts of assistance ever reached them from the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA).
Janet bared she could still hear the piercing gunfire screaming and the ear-piercing bomb explosion in the background as she talked to her brother who along with other Filipinos working for the same company are now fearing for their lives, a news report stated.
Espinosa said there two other Cebuanos with him, one from Cordova town and the other from Danao City as he appealed to the city government to help them.
Espinosa arrived in Libya last November and has worked in Saudi Arabia for three years.
The Batangueno Human Resources, Espinosa’s agency, has promised his family that contingency plans are also being worked out.
Lapulapu City Mayor Paz Radaza said she is now coordinating with concerned government agencies and is pulling all resources to immediately extend the necessary assistance to rescue Espinosa and the other Filipinos.
DFA Acting Sec. Alberto del Rosaro has said that they are doing their best to fast track evacuation efforts of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) still trapped in Libya.
There are said to be 26,000 OFWs in Libya while the national government has released a standby fund of at least P100M to the Philippine Embassy in Tripoli. Additional funds would also be released if necessary for the prompt evacuation of OFWs. (PIA-Cebu/Fayette C. Riñen)
Cebu. Feb. 28 (PIA — Fire Prevention Month kicks off tomorrow, (March 1) with a mass and a ‘Walk for Fire Prevention Cause’ at 7:00 am within the BFP headquarters at N. Bacalso Ave. to Sto. Rosario-Junquera St.-Colon-Borromeo and Panganiban route.
BIR-13 intensifies tax mapping in Cebu
By: Hazel F. Gloria
Cebu City, Feb. 28 (PIA) --The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) intensifies its tax mapping activity to all business establishments in Cebu Province.
In an interview with PIA, BIR-13 Information Officer Isabelo Suelto, Jr. said this is to verify the compliance with registration, invoicing and bookkeeping provided for under existing internal revenue laws, rules and regulations.
This is also to encourage business establishments to register and be reminded to pay the proper taxes, he continued.
More than 300 establishments have already been apprehended in its tax mapping drive as of February 25, Suelto added.
Some of these apprehensions included violations of failure of to register the business with the BIR; failure to issue duly registered receipts or invoices; use of unregistered receipts or invoices; and unauthorized cash register point-of-sale machines.
According to Suelto the sanctions of these violations include confiscation of the point-of-sale machines and the unregistered receipts/invoices.
They will also have to pay for possible deficiency taxes including increments of 25-50 percent surcharge; 20 percent interest and compromise penalty which ranges from P1,000 – P50,000 depending on the nature of the violation, even imprisonment for offenses that are subject to criminal prosecution, Suelto explained.
BIR-13 also intensifies their Tax Information Campaign this year with the theme, “Buwis Mo Para sa Bagong Pilipinas.”(pia7/hfg)