Category Archives: Announcements

Author Atty. Mary Elizabeth M. Belmonte  
On 30 April 2020, Attys. Rosalia S. Bartolome-Alejo and Mary Elizabeth M. Belmonte joined the first online General Membership Meeting of the Tax Management Association of the Philippines (TMAP). Following the usual monthly agenda, Atty. Romeo H. Duran gave his President’s Report detailing the efforts of TMAP in pushing for the extension of the tax deadlines due to the implementation of the Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ). He also mentioned that the International Tax Conference of the Asia-Oceana Tax Consultants’ Association or AOTCA initially scheduled in November 2020 will be moved to September 2021.

The guest speaker, Honorable Rep. Stella Luz A. Quimbo of the Second District of Marikina City, discussed the Php370B Economic Stimulus Package to cushion the effects of COVID-19 and ECQ on the Philippine economy.  

In her study based on a 45-day lockdown, Rep. Quimbo estimated a loss of Php18B for each day in lockdown. Thus, there is a need for the  Philippine Government to input Php370B into the economy as stimulus package to revive it immediately. The stimulus package shall provide assistance to businesses in the form of compensation for payroll costs during the ECQ, capacity-building for businesses to recover, zero interest loans to boost liquidity, and “proportional assistance” or rational scale of assistance. Rep. Quimbo also mentioned the need for digital solutions and involvement of private sectors in the speedy distribution of the stimulus package to the business owners.

Rep. Quimbo emphasized that the Php370B Economic Stimulus Package is necessary to ensure business continuity and to protect the Filipino workers. Her mantra is “Let’s flatten the curve, not the economy”.

Congress is currently finalizing the Philippine Economic Stimulus Act as proposed by Reps. Quimbo and Joey Salceda.

Author Atty. Manuel Z. Gonzalez  

Manuel “Tonito” Z. Gonzalez, head of the Projects & Energy Practice Group of MVGS, recently contributed to an article by Inspiratia dubbed as “Philippines 2GW Auction to Revive Renewables Sector”, relating to the Philippine Government’s initiative to scale the procurement of renewables through a 2GW auction under a new green energy tariff program (GETP) to be administered by the Department of Energy (DOE).  Inspiratia is a a London and Washington DC based team of industry experts and analysts that support clients with insightful studies and analysis on business and market trends.

The target under GETP is to generate 15GW of renewables capacity in the next 10 years with investment value of about US$20 billion, with the objective of ensuring flexibility, transparency, competition in the renewable energy sector.

It will be recalled that the Philippine Government implemented a feed-in tariff (FiT) scheme based on the Energy Regulatory Commission’s (“ERC”) Feed-in-Tariff Rules passed on July of 2010 and later amended through ERC Resolution No.15, series of 2012, but this did not necessarily result in lower costs to end-consumers. The GETP will be open to  all developers including to those who missed FiT deadlines under the previous FiT program.

Tonito told Inspiratia that the FiT faced an oversubscription of solar applications, in particular, in 2016 the DoE reported that solar FiT applications exceeded its 500MW target by 390MW which complicated the process because the FiT scheme operated on a first-come, first serve basis. Thus, after the targeted megawatts were met, the DoE could no longer extend the benefit of the FiT to projects that can potentially reach earlier commissioning. As noted by Tonito, the number of applicants for the GETP is expected to be substantial due to the challenges faced in securing tariffs under the previous FiT programme.

The GETP launch, however, will be delayed in view of the COVID-19 pandemic.

To read the full article, please refer to the attachment below or you may read it at Inspiratia’s website at Philippines 2GW Auction to revive renewables sector.

Date November 20, 2019
Author Atty. Rosalia S. Bartolome-Alejo & Atty. Mary Elizabeth M. Belmonte  

As 2019 draws to its end, the Taxation Practice Group of MVGS looks back to a busy year, with some challenging tax cases and projects. With the Taxation team slowly growing, its team head, Atty. Rosalia S. Bartolome-Alejo, is confident that the key objectives of MVGS will certainly be pursued: (1) to provide business friendly, practical, and cost-effective approaches to clients’ tax concerns, whether it be for their businesses, family, or personal needs, and (2) to provide excellent taxation administration and litigation services, encompassing the range of tax remedies from the administrative to judicial levels, including the Court of Tax Appeals and the Supreme Court of the Philippines. MVGS’ Taxation Practice consists of the following: Business Advisory Services, International Taxation, Estate Planning, Tax Remedies, and Tax Compliance Review.

In August 2017, MVGS joined the Tax Management Association of the Philippines or TMAP, the association of tax practitioners in the Philippines. This paved the way to the continuing professional growth of MVGS and its tax practitioners.

TMAP is a member of the Asia-Oceana Tax Consultants’ Association or AOTCA, the association of tax professionals in the Asian and Oceanic regions. Recently, TMAP sent 21 delegates, including MVGS’ CPA-lawyer Atty. Mary Elizabeth M. Belmonte, to the AOTCA International Tax Conference 2019 held on October 16-18, 2019 in Busan, South Korea. The following topics were discussed during the conference: (i) Artificial Intelligence: Will It Replace Human Tax Advisors; (ii) Digital Tax: How Governments Deal with Digital Transactions; and (iii) Tax Morale and Compliance: Country Update.

Date May 09, 2019

MVGS Law extends pro bono legal services to The PARC FoundationDate May 09, 2019

On 12 April 2019, a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was signed between The Performing Arts and Recreation Center Foundation, Inc. (The PARC Foundation) and Martinez Vergara Gonzalez & Serrano (MVGS). Through said MOU, MVGS shall extend corporate legal services to The PARC Foundation on a pro bono basis.

The PARC Foundation is now the second organization that can avail of free legal service from MVGS after the firm adopted its formal policy on providing pro bono services in 2018 as part of its professional responsibility to extend legal services and representation to non-governmental organizations (NGOs) who do not have immediate access to corporate legal services. With the agreement with The PARC Foundation, MVGS hopes to make its services available to deserving NGOs, in order to address their peculiar requirements in the fields of taxation, labor, immigration, intellectual property, corporate governance, including legal advisory in transactions with funders and donors.

The PARC Foundation is a non-stock non-profit organization established to engage in the development and support of the performing arts in the Philippines, by enabling Filipino artists to succeed locally and worldwide. MVGS assisted its founder, the late artist, pianist and young entrepreneur, Wilmer Guido, in setting up the foundation in 2015. Currently, the foundation is headed by Wilmer’s co-founder, Issay Nodalo.

During the simple signing ceremonies held at PARC’s creative hub in San Juan City, one of the foundation’s principal supporter and head of the Guido Group of Companies, William Guido, expressed his continued support to the foundation, as a way of continuing the advocacy of his son, Wilmer, to create a home where Filipino artists can hone and showcase their talents.

Atty. Mark Vergara and Atty. Rosalia Bartolome-Alejo signed the MOU on behalf of MVGS, while Mr. William Guido and Ms. Issay Nodalo signed it on behalf of The PARC Foundation.

Date January 24, 2019

Author Atty. Eduardo A. Martinez  

This article was originally published at CODE-NGO’s Facebook page

January 2019, PASIG CITY.

The Caucus of Development NGO Networks (CODE-NGO) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Martinez Vergara Gonzalez & Serrano (MVGS). Through the MOU, MVGS will extend corporate legal services to CODE-NGO and its members on a pro-bono basis.

MVGS recently adopted a formal policy on providing pro bono services as part of its professional responsibility to extend legal services and representation to non-governmental organizations (NGOs) who do not have ready access to corporate legal services. Having dealt with a few NGOs, MVGS realized that there are few law firms and legal practitioners that make their services available in the fields of taxation, labor, immigration, intellectual property, corporate governance, including legal advisory on transactions with funders and other stakeholders involved in the work of NGOs.

We are happy to finally be able to access pro bono legal advice on matters concerning NGO governance, regulation and taxation from MVGS and seek help with legal research to support our policy advocacies, says CODE-NGO Executive Director Roselle S. Rasay.

MVGS partnered with CODE-NGO because it sees the organization as uniquely positioned to help the Firm reach out to more NGOs. We see this partnership as an excellent platform to provide legal guidance to NGOs and the causes they promote. Working with CODE-NGO will contribute to the professional growth of the Firm’s lawyers, by providing them insights on social, political and environmental issues, as well as developing in them the value of giving back to the community, says MVGS Managing Partner, Atty. Elmer B. Serrano.

Atty. Serrano and Partner, Atty. Rosalia Bartolome-Alejo, signed the MOU on behalf of MVGS while Ms. Rasay and Finance and Administrative Manager Gigi Arroyo signed it on behalf of CODE-NGO.