Guest of Honor and Speaker’s Profile

President Rodrigo Duterte has turned to a deeply religious old friend to lead the tax bureau, which he has described as among the most corrupt in the entire bureaucracy.

Lawyer Caesar Dulay told ABS-CBN News that he was initially shocked at being named Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) commissioner, but later realized that his law school buddy was looking for an honest man.

“They know me for being religious and spiritual,” said Dulay, who has done volunteer work with Church groups for decades.

Dulay said his marching orders from Duterte were simple: “Kaya mo ‘yan Bill. Linisin mo ‘yan. Just clean up.”

The incoming tax chief said he would remove opportunities for corruption in the agency, improve collection efficiency and review current rules.

Dulay takes over from BIR Commissioner Kim Henares, a gun enthusiast who struck fear by filing tax evasion cases every other week since assuming office in 2010. Under Henares’ watch, collections breached the P1-trillion mark for the first time. The agency is targeting to collect around P2 trillion this year.

DORM MATES

Dulay said he stayed in the same dormitory as Duterte when they were both studying law in Manila. Dulay was with Ateneo, while Duterte was enrolled in San Beda. Since he was one year ahead of Duterte, Dulay said “Digong” would inherit most of his textbooks. Their friendship continued after college as Duterte helped him land a job at the Alcantara group of companies in Davao, Dulay said.

Dulay was a volunteer in 71-year-old Duterte’s presidential campaign. Dulay supports “Ang Arko ng Pilipinas,” a charity dedicated to persons with mental disabilities and the Family of Life Apostolate. In these charitable communities, Dulay is known simply as “Kuya Billy.”

As a lawyer for 45 years, Dulay has worked for various offices in Davao as well as Philippine Airlines and Ayala Corp. subsidiary Agusan Wood Logging. “I never had a real tax practice,” he said, adding he has tapped volunteer tax experts to help him in his new job.