'Palace still pushing for road user's tax'

Malacanang is still pressing for the immediate passage of a bill that will increase vehicle registration fees from 50 to 800 percent, Rep. Ernesto Herrera (LAMP, Bohol) said yesterday.

Herrera said the House leadership, "upon instigation of Malacanang officials," has calendared the ratification of the bicameral committee report on the motor vehicle user's charge bill immediately after the Holy Week recess.

He said that during the Economic Coordinating Council's last meeting before the Holy Week, Malacanang officials and House leaders agreed to have the bill ratified when Congress reopens on May 8.

The Senate has passed its own version of the bill.

Last month, Malacanang stopped supporting the bill's passage after transport groups threatened to mount a nationwide strike, Herrera said.

He quoted Speaker Manuel Villar as saying that the House leadership was committed to support Malacanang's decision to stall the bill's passage.

Herrera urged other congressmen stick to their promise not to table for ratification the bicameral conference committee report on the MVUC bill

He warned that the bill's passage would "only further erode whatever little public confidence is left in the Estrada administration."

Under the MVUC bill, the new motor vehicle registration fees range from P1,300 to P7,500 for passenger cars; P1,300 to P3,500 for utility vehicles; P300 to P500 for motorcycles; and P2,200 to P7,000 for buses, trucks, and trailers.

The revenues shall be earmarked for road maintenance, the installation of road safety devices and pollution control, drainange and sewage system, and installation of traffic lights.

Earlier, Sen Juan Ponce Enrile, chairman of the Senate ways and means committee, said the bicameral conference report came out with an "easier" payment schdule after acknowledging the opposotion of motorists to the MVUC.

But, Enrile said private passenger cars to be registered for the first time shall be subject to the full rate once the proposed tax has been imposed.