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Philippine Institute of Certified Public Accountants (PICPA) Angeles City Chapter officers paid a courtesy call on SGV Clark Partners and staff on 6 July 2022.  SGV Clark team with PICPA officers MG7 Leader Jose Pepito Zabat led the SGV team with Tax Partner Hentje Leo L. Leaño, Tax Senior Director Leo Niño Canlas, and Associate Directors David Jonathan Manalili, John Marti Duya, Keith Derick Silva, Ezra Yumul, and Alyssa Antonio. They met with PICPA Angeles City Chapter President Dr. Myrna C. Calma, Public Relations Officer Mariel Pamintuan-Palo, and PICPA National Committee on Awards Chair Anna Lissa Chua-Dycaico. They discussed possible projects, programs, and collaborations between the PICPA Angeles City Chapter and SGV Clark. This was followed by an awarding ceremony where SGV Clark received a certificate of appreciation for its continued support for the Chapter.

Members of the SGV Indirect Tax team hosted a webinar entitled Customs Updates 2022: An overview of Post Clearance Audit Hot Issues and Recent Customs Issuances for member companies and other representatives of the Super Green Lane (SGL) Association on 20 July 2022.   Customs Updates 2022 speakers SGV Indirect Tax Senior Director Atty. Alden Patrick C. Labaguis and Associate Director Atty. Gracia Mae A. Beronilla led the webinar. The virtual session was coordinated by Logistics Sector Leader and Indirect Tax Principal Stephanie V. Nava and organized by Indirect Tax Senior Associates Kierk Robin M. Ret, Andrea Nicole C. Loreno, and James E. Gregorio. Atty. Gracia began the discussions by summarizing recent customs updates. She talked about the Customs Bonded Warehouse including its establishment and control, the Admission Temporaire or Temporary Admission (ATA) System, Guidelines for Accreditation of Importers and Customs Brokers, and Guidelines in the implementation of the Liquidation and Billing system and post-entry modification of the Single Administrative Document (SAD). Atty. Alden discussed issues under Post Clearance Audit.  Attorneys Gracia and Alden, along with SGL Association President CJ Garcia, addressed inquiries from the participants during the open forum. Deputy Commissioner of Assessment and Coordinating Group, Bureau of Customs Operations Atty. Edward James Dy Buco gave the opening remarks while Atty. Alden gave the closing remarks. In closing, Atty. Alden thanked the participants and ensured them that the SGV Indirect Tax Team is always eager to host subsequent webinars for the SGL Association. 

Members of the SGV Tax Team conducted a seminar on Transfer Pricing: Overview & Updates with PortCalls on 22 July 2022.  Representatives from different logistics companies in the Philippines participated in the joint event, which was held at the Holiday Inn & Suites Makati. Atty. Alden, Atty. Rhena, and PortCalls Director Ms. Mariel Kiatchko SGV International Tax Partner Atty. Auresana B. Ines and SGV Indirect Tax (IDT) Senior Director Atty. Alden Patrick C. Labaguis led the topic discussions. Atty. Rhena discussed concepts and relevant transfer pricing issuances. She also explained the process of preparing transfer pricing documentation. Meanwhile, Atty. Alden gave a brief discussion on how transfer pricing adjustments on imported goods may have customs implications, such as customs duties and value-added tax (VAT) on importation. Both speakers addressed questions from the participants during the open forum.  The onsite seminar was made possible through the initiative of SGV Logistics Leader and IDT Principal Stephanie V. Nava in collaboration with PortCalls. PortCalls is a news and data provider for cargo transport and logistics professionals. IDT Senior Associates Lauren Antonette M. Mendoza, Ernest Joshua G. Ardiente, Kierk Robin M. Ret, and Andrea Nicole C. Loreno were part of the seminar’s organizing team. 

SGVeans participated in the 2022 Philippine Institute of Certified Public Accountants (PICPA) Annual Planning Conference (APC) held at The Oriental Leyte from 24 to 25 June 2022. CPAs representing the national office, geographical area offices, regions, and chapters gathered to prepare for fiscal year 2022-2023.  Wena, Edsel, Maricris, a former SGVean,and Meynard at the 2022 PICPA APC National APC Committee Chair Maricris U. See gave the opening remarks on the first day while Co-Chair Meynard L. Sardalla formally closed the program on the second day. Members Edsel Francis T. Lima and Maria Edelwina E. Pastrana, Former PICPA President Marydith C. Miguel, PICPA National Board Member John T. Villa, PICPA Accountancy Week Celebration Committee Chair Sonia D. Segovia, PICPA Induction Committee Chair Meynard A. Bonoen, PICPA National Membership Committee Chair Peter John R. Ventura and PICPA Eastern Metro Manila Chapter (EMMC) President Michael A. Madlangbayan also joined the event. The 2022 APC delegates participated in numerous talks, planning sessions, roundtable discussions, and open forums. The sessions focused on leadership styles in the new normal, inclusivity and diversity, and understanding the roles of the officers with respect to the organization and its members.

Climate Change and Sustainability Services (CCaSS) Director Erika N. Courteille was a speaker at the 3rd virtual session of the 2022 Business Leadership Program (BLP) organized by The American Chamber of Commerce (Amcham) of the Philippines, Inc. on 13 June 2022. The AmCham BLP is an intensive immersion program where top students in the country are exposed to leading companies for talks, discussions, and mentorships to build their strengths as future business leaders. SGV is one of the sponsors of the program. Erika talks about ESG  Erika provided an introduction to Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) issues. She discussed the basics of ESG, as well as the role of SGV in sustainability and sustainability reporting. She also gave a preview of the 2nd edition of SGV's Beyond the Bottom Line: Sustainability Reporting in the Philippines, a report containing a review of listed companies’ 2020 sustainability reports.  Erika with the BLP participants Erika concluded the session by providing examples of how students can contribute to sustainability efforts. She also entertained questions from the participants. More than 30 selected students attended the event. 

This edition of the SGV Government and Public Sector Bulletin contains some of the highlights of President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos, Jr.’s first State of the Nation Address (SONA) where he presented his key policies and priorities, including priority bills of the Government.See full publication article here: https://www.sgv.ph/publications

SGV signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with MakeSense Inc. to be part of the No Other Year for Plastics Initiative (NOYPI) 2025 Coalition on 30 May 2022. The program aims to provide alternatives to single-use plastics.  CCaSS team with other NOYPI Coalition Kickoff Workshop participants By joining the coalition, SGV commits to support the elimination of single-use sachets in the Philippines. The Firm also agrees to take part in a series of events organized by MakeSense. So far, two workshops in line with the program have been attended by members of the SGV Climate Change and Sustainability Services (CCaSS) team on different dates from April to June 2022. Financial Accounting Advisory Services (FAAS) and CCaSS Partner Benjamin N. Villacorte, Director Erika N. Courteille, Associate Directors Diana A. Sadili and Yna Altea D. Antipala, and Senior Associate Erica Nicole D. Gomez attended the NOYPI Coalition Kickoff Workshop in April. In a breakout session, they shared services offered by the Firm which directly or indirectly help address the plastics problem in the country. Erika, Diana, and Nicole also attended the NOYPI Coalition – Sprint Workshop: System leveraging points and disruptive innovations mapping from 31 May to 6 June. The workshop focused on developing a system diagram that would help the NOYPI Coalition understand the events, patterns, trends, and underlying structures in relation to the plastics problem in the country. Two more Sprint workshops on sari-sari stores socio-economic system mapping and possible future system design will be conducted in July and August 2022.

SGV was the technical adviser and official tabulator in the 2022 European Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines (ECCP) Europa Awards held on 23 June 2022. 2022 Europa Awards Tabulators Financial Accounting Advisory Services (FAAS) and Climate Change and Sustainability Services (CCaSS) Partner Benjamin N. Villacorte, CCaSS Associate Director Diana Rose A. Sadili, and Associates Hans Juris A. Artillero and Lorenso Luis C. Bueno served as tabulators and technical advisers for the event. They provided technical advice on the awards categories and scoring framework developed by ECCP and tabulated data from ECCP’s technical judges. The Europa Awards aim to recognize companies with exceptional performance in and contributions to promoting sustainability in line with global standards and the Philippine Development Plan.

The Climate Change and Sustainability Services (CCaSS) team published a CCaSS thought leadership report entitled “Beyond the Bottom Line 2nd Edition: Sustainability Landscape in the Philippines” on 28 June 2022.  The publication contains a review of Philippine publicly listed companies’ 2020 sustainability reports which were submitted in 2021. Compared to the first edition, the 2nd edition extends the discussion to global and local developments around Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) and the changing priorities of regulators, investors, and companies. The 2nd Edition of Beyond the Bottom Line: Sustainability Landscape in the Philippines can be accessed here. 

SGV Davao Partners Jose Raoul J. Balisalisa, Saha A. Bulagsak, and Thyrza F. Marbas participated in the Recent Developments in Philippine Taxation webinar organized by The American Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines Inc.— Mindanao chapter (AmCham Mindanao) on 30 May 2022. Raoul and Saha with the organizers Ms. Saha was a resource speaker for the event. She talked about the most recent Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) issuances and discussed their impact on various businesses. Mr. Raoul moderated the session and gave the opening remarks. Ms. Thyrza joined in the Q&A session and gave the closing remarks. Over 50 participants attended the event.