Razed post office building insured for ₧604M–GSIS Artificial intelligence revolutionizes medicine

THE Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) said the razed Manila Central Post Office, including its various contents, is insured with the state pension fund amounting to P604 million.

In a statement, GSIS said it immediately dispatched adjusters to the fire scene a few days ago even if there was no official fire-out declaration yet from the Bureau of Fire Protection.

“We also deployed drones to completely evaluate the affected struc-

Prison awaits taxpayers with multiple TINs–BIR

THE Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) last Tuesday reminded the public that having multiple Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN) could land them in prison.

BIR Commissioner Romeo D. Lumagui Jr. was quoted in the statement as saying that taxpayers must be “vigilant” in “keeping track of their TINs” and must ensure that they are not being “duplicated.”

“This will surely help maintain the integrity of the tax system and promote a fair and equitable tax environment. The BIR has implemented measures to identify and prosecute individuals who violate the TIN provision,” Lumagui said.

Lumagui explained that having more than one TIN is a violation of the National Internal Revenue Code of 1997.

“The acquisition of multiple TINs by a taxpayer is a serious offense that can lead to legal repercussions and significant revenue losses for the government,” it said.

“The offender will pay a fine of One Thousand pesos [P1,000.00] or suffer imprisonment of not more than six [6] months or both,” it added.

Aside from the penalties, the BIR said taxpayers with more than one TIN could lead to “confusion” and “errors” in the filingo tax returns, which in turn could result in different sets of penalties and even additional tax obligations.

“If an individual has inadvertently acquired multiple TINs, it is necessary to rectify the situation immediately by requesting for cancellation of the TINs issued to the taxpayer,” the BIR said. Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas tures. We are very much aware of the historical significance of the building and we would like to assist in its rebuilding efforts in every possible way,” GSIS President and General Manager Jose Arnulfo A. Veloso said last Monday.

Veloso said GSIS is offering its Pasig warehouse to serve as a temporary workplace for the employees of the post office.

The GSIS is also willing to extend a loan for the reconstruction of the Manila Central Post Office, which houses the Philippine Postal Corp.

(PPC) and is considered an important cultural property in the country, Veloso said.

“Its loss will have a huge impact on our rich cultural heritage. We need to bring it back to its original splendor,” the GSIS chief added.

The GSIS said it will soon conduct a full-blown site inspection to determine the extent of damage sustained by the insured properties of the post office.

Earlier this week, Postmaster General Luis D. Carlos assured the general public that the PPC will remain operational as he ordered nearby Manila branches of PHLPost to assist the public. (Related story: https://businessmirror. com.ph/2023/05/22/fire-razesmanila-central-post-office/)

The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said it is closely coordinating with PPC regarding the Phil-IDs that may have been affected by the fire. (Related story: https://businessmirror.com.ph/2023/05/23/psanatl-ids-for-delivery-in-manilaaffected-by-post-office-fire/)

Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas

OUR first fascination with AI (Artificial Intelligence) was seeing how they moved in sci-fiction movies like “The Terminator” and “Matrix.”

Another later movie was “Chappie,” which is about a “RoboCop” droid hijacked by the bad guys and utilized to fight the good RoboCops, starring Hugh Jackman. Last month, the New York Police Department announced the deployment of three new “Robocops” in the Times Square area: K5 Autonomous Security Robot units, Spot Digidog, and the Star Chase GPS to maintain peace and order in the world’s primmest cities.

Then we knew of our colleague in California (Ramon) sitting by his lounge bed in his garden waiting for his AI “gardener” machine to trim the Bermuda grass and his AI vacuum cleaner to tidy up the palatial home.

Zoilo ‘Bingo’ Dejaresco III morning but an AI can cover millions of them in the same amount of time. Unlike humans which can be subjected to everyday stress, AI machines are inanimate objects and are often good and more precise “assistants” for many surgeons in sensitive operations demanding accuracy.

May 8, 2023, shows participants of the BKR Asia Pacific Region Annual General Meeting—the first after three years of lockdowns against the pandemic—at Shangri-La far Eastern Hotel in Taipei city, Taiwan, from May 6 to 8, 2023. The conference was attended by over 60 participants of Asia Pacific BKR members from different countries including Australia, canada, Hongkong-china SAR, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, United Kingdom and the United States of America. Also in attendance were 13 partners and directors of Alas oplas & co cPAs, a member firm from the Philippines, alongside with the chairman of BKR Worldwide and the cEo of Aoc, Marycris S. oplas. CREDIT: Al As OplAs & CO , CpAs