Bureau of Internal Revenue(BIR)

Warmest greetings. I would like to request for the 2019-2020 Income Tax Return of Ms. Nenita Ong Tan and/or SN Oriental Baguio Traders as wholesaler/distributor of liquor in the municipality of La Trinidad, Benguet and Baguio City.

November 17, 2021

Dear Ms. Ignas,

This is in response to your message last November 15, 2021 regarding your request for 2019-2020 Income Tax Return of Ms. Nenita Ong Tan or SN Oriental Baguio Traders as wholesaler or distributor of liquor.

Section 71 of the National Internal Revenue Code states that after the assessment shall have been made, the returns, together with any corrections thereof which may have been made by the Commissioner, shall be filed in the Office of the Commissioner and shall constitute public records and be open to inspection as such upon the order of the President of the Philippines, under rules and regulations to be prescribed by the Secretary of Finance, upon recommendation of the Commissioner.	

In relation to the abovementioned provision, Revenue Memorandum Circular No. 128-2019 (RMC No. 128-2019) was issued to confirm the Bureau of Internal Revenue’s (BIR) consistent compliance and commitment to institutionalize Executive Order (EO) No. 2, s. 2016 also known as the Freedom of Information (FOI) Program within the agency. The said Circular sets the standard procedure for the FOI requests. In that Circular, it specifies that the requesting party must fill-up a FOI Request Form indicating the specific reason for, or purpose of the request for information, among others. In addition, the requesting party shall attach to his or her FOI request at least two (2) valid government I.D.s containing the photograph and signature of the requesting party and the written authorization of the principal and at least two (2) valid government I.D.s containing the photograph and signature of the representative if the request is made through a representative.

Also, we would like to invite your attention to the provisions of Section 12 of Republic Act No. 10173 or the Data Privacy Act of 2012:

“Section 12. Criteria for Lawful Processing of Personal Information. - The processing of personal information shall be permitted only if not otherwise prohibited by law, and when at least one of the following conditions exists:

a.	The data subject has given his or her consent;

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Pursuant to the abovementioned provisions, we humbly regret to inform you that this office cannot grant your request.

Thank you and be safe always.