THE SENATE majority leader has called on the upper chamber to ratify international conventions on establishing a database to combat tax evasion, improving labor inspections, and allowing foreign prisoners to serve the rest of their sentences in their home country.
At a Senate Committee on Foreign Relations hearing tackling the conventions and treaties, Senate Majority Leader Emmanuel Joel J. Villanueva said the Multilateral Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters would boost revenues by reducing cases of tax evasion.
The convention would require the Philippines to cooperate with the party countries on best practices to deter cases of tax evasion.
Mr. Villanueva also pushed for the ratification of the International Labor Organization (ILO) Convention No. 81, which requires the Philippines to comply with international standards on labor inspection to ensure worker safety.
“It is this representation’s hope that the ratification of ILO C81 will resolve the existing gaps in our current policies, to ensure that we are compliant with international labor standards,” he said at the hearing.
Late last year, the Senate ratified a 2019 ILO convention to eliminate workplace violence and harassment, making the Philippines the first Southeast Asian country to affirm the global treaty.
Mr. Villanueva also supported a treaty between Canada and the Philippines on allowing prisoners from both countries to serve the remainder of a sentence in his or her home country. — John Victor D. Ordoñez
