Sin tax reform on the right track

More than a revenue generating measure, the proposed sin tax reform bill will significantly reduce smoking among Filipinos, most especially the youth who indulge in this health risk because retail prices of cigarettes have been too easily within their reach.

Yet there are definitely so many other bonus benefits to be reaped by bringing cigar and cigarette prices to the higher levels as proposed by Sen. Frank Drilon who is now acting chairman of the Senate Ways and Means Committee vice Sen. Ralph Recto who resigned after receiving unfavorable feedback from his committee’s sin tax bill version.

For one, the right amount of tax on cigars and cigarettes will bring substantial revenues to the government, particularly for its universal health care program that intends to provide better medical services for the poorest sectors of Philippine society.

Right to health

UHC simply means that all Filipinos, rich or poor, should have access to high quality health care. This is a concept that is embodied in our bill of rights yet more often neglected or simply paid lip service by our government officials.

This is because the right to health for every Filipino is currently faced with gargantuan challenges including an inadequate health governance program, the lack of qualified and adequate human health resources, and the absence of enough health funds.

In a comprehensive study conducted by the Universal Health Care Study Group under the aegis of the National Institutes of Health in UP Manila, it was established that 60 percent of Filipinos who die, die without health professional attendance, and that 70 percent of health professionals serve only 30 percent of the population.

Furthermore, Filipinos spent P127 billion for their health needs out of their own pockets in 2007, whereas PhilHealth paid only P20 billion or 8.5 percent of the country’s total health expenditure during the same year.

Taxes for health

Should Malacanang’s intentions carry, the sin tax reform bill should generate as much as P46 billion on its first year, of which a large chunk would be appropriated to boosting the state’s health spending, including an expanded health insurance coverage at the barangay level.

Together with other reforms in the public health care system, this should enable every Filipino to carry a health card that would take care, even if partially, his hospitalization and medical expenses. It’s ironic that among the rich, only 10 infants out of 1,000 live births die; while among the poor, more than 90 infants do.

Knowing that the additional funds which will go to UHC will be coming from sin taxes makes the deal even sweeter, if not justified. After all, a large part of government health spending is expended on illnesses that are directly and indirectly linked to cigarette smoking.

Even if cigarette smoking is dampened by the higher taxes, this would result in lower health care spending for smoking-related illnesses and better health for Filipinos who can ill-afford to indulge in this deadly vice.

Definitely, raising sin taxes is not just as a way of raising government tax collections or even reforming an unjust tax structure that has deprived government of the correct amount of revenues for more than 16 years, but for health reasons is a much more acceptable reason.

Not yet over

With P-Noy once again certifying the sin tax bill as urgent, the next battle arena would be at the bicameral level. Hence, more vigilance is needed as the respective committees of the lower and upper houses of Congress meet to hammer out the final version of this proposed law.

It has been known in many instances in the past how the Senate version of a bill is “mangled” or “defanged” with last minute insertions or deletions that render the final product not fit to serve its intended purpose.

After so many months, even years, of hard work, it is not imaginable to wake up the next day with a law that has been signed and sealed, but for all intents and purposes, inutile.

Our health champions and activist stakeholders cannot yet relax until the Bicameral Committee, now being derogatively referred to as the Third House, will have done their job of reconciling the bill versions of both Upper and Lower Houses.

This is what supposedly happened to the recently passed Cybercrime Prevention Law wherein the controversial online libel and double penalty provisions were inserted in the final version when they were nowhere to be found in all other previous discussions.

In the absence of institutional safeguards that would prevent such unfortunate circumstances, we hope that our concerned lawmakers will keep their guard against any mischief that the strong lobby groups working for the tobacco monopoly would initiate in the final stretch.

We cannot afford to lose more lives to the deadly sins of smoking and excessive alcohol drinking. We cannot afford to delay reforming our health care system so that our less privileged countrymen will receive the health services they deserve.

Champions League 2012

National Collegiate Championship

The games leading to the final four of the Champions League 2012 National Collegiate Championship unraveled several surprises. One of them is the unexpected strong showing of NAASCU champion, St. Claire College of Caloocan.

The basketball program instituted by its president, Dr. Jay Adalen is finally bearing fruit. Watch this team as it gives the UAAP and NCAA teams some stiff competition in the future.

The biggest surprise is the rampaging Adamson U Soaring Falcons of coach Leo Austria. Finishing way below expectations in the UAAP (6th placer), the Soaring Falcons surprised everyone as it racked seven straight wins from the qualifying games in Metro Manila all the way up in the “step-ladder knock-out” round beating JRU Heavy Bombers, north-Central Luzon champion, La Finns Scholastica Lionhearts, De La Salle Green Archers and last year’s National Collegiate champion, San Sebastian College-Recoletos Golden Stags.

Watch the Final Four Round starting Wednesday, Nov.  21, at FilOil Flying V Arena or on Channel Studio 23, ABS-CBN Network where the games are aired live. 

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Should you wish to share any insights, write me at Link Edge, 25th Floor, 139 Corporate Center, Valero Street, Salcedo Village, 1227 Makati City. Or e-mail me at [email protected]. For a compilation of previous articles, visit www.BizlinksPhilipppines.net.