On 15 Feb. 2017, the Congressional Committee on Ways and Means headed by Rep. Dakila Carlo “Dax” E. Cua of Quirino held a public hearing at the Rolando Andaya Hall, South Wing Annex of the House of Representatives to address stakeholders regarding the tax proposals of the Department of Finance through its collection arms> the Bureau of Internal Revenue and the Bureau of Customs.  BIR Commissioner Dulay and the representative from the BOC backed up DOF Usec. Karl Kendrick Chua.  All seemed calm until Cong. Joey Sarte Salceda/Albay entered the room and questioned the power point presentation of BIR Dep. Comm. Nestor Valerioso regarding the BIR’s efficiency in collections for the last year. STC informed this august body the history of retail competition in the country and how support from suppliers have dwindled through the years as the big players dominated the scene.  Also, he intimated the fact that one of the reasons smaller stores sell out to the giants is because of challenges brought about by the BIR; aside from the squeeze in margins and from neighboring stores.