THE House of Representatives will also determine if online shopping platform Shopee’s affiliate companies in the country are paying the correct amount of taxes once it starts its investigation into Shopee Express’ alleged labor violations, a party-list lawmaker said yesterday.
“The government needs to collect more tax revenues to fund our country’s important infrastructure and social amelioration programs. As such, we should ensure that big earners like Shopee pay correct taxes to the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR),” Rep. Lex Anthony Cris Colada (PL, AAMBIS-OWA).
The administration lawmaker said he has “received information that Shopee may have violated more Philippine laws.”
Colada has already filed a resolution seeking an inquiry into the alleged labor malpractices of SPX Philippines, better known as Shopee Express or SPX, after drivers complained of “poor working conditions.”
House Resolution No. 1718 also asks the appropriate House committee to look into as the ownership of SPX’ affiliate company, Shopee Philippines, which is represented by its chairman and major shareholder Frederick Chong “with respect to compliance with the anti-dummy law and other relevant laws and regulations.”
Both SPX and Shopee Philippines, subsidiaries of Singapore-based SEA Limited, are accused of union-busting while the companies’ ownership are being questioned in relation to the Anti-Dummy Law.
Colada said the House also has to look into any involvement of Shopee in the violation of immigration rules. “If it’s true that they are also encouraging and facilitating illegal immigration, that’s another offense against our labor laws, sadly to the detriment of our countrymen,” he said.
The resolution said the inquiry will focus on the delay in the payment of salaries of SPX drivers for more than a year and the termination of a significant number of employees, including drivers, despite claims of business expansion.
“In 2021, SPX drivers staged a protest against the company due to the delay in the payment of compensation and salaries for more than a year, as well as the lack of social and welfare benefits, including accident and health insurance,” it said.
The following year, the resolution said Shopee Philippines had a labor dispute with its truck drivers who accused the popular online shopping platform of illegally preventing them from forming a union and unilaterally terminating employees despite the company’s claim of business expansion in the Philippines.
Colada said Shopee’s management prevented the formation of a union over claims that the drivers were not direct employees since they were supposedly employed by their 22 contractors and subcontractors. He said the drivers are insisting that “SPX actually employs them, as the trucks they drive belonged to Shopee, based on official documents and records.”
