Angara presses for sale of P250-B government asset

Opposition Sen. Edgardo Angara pressed yesterday for the "immediate but transparent" sale of sequestered assets worth about P250 billion "to raise money for the cash-strapped Arroyo administration and generate funds for vital state projects."

This came as Sen. John Osmeña, chairman of the Senate committee on finance, remains intent on cutting the proposed P780-billion budget for next year, as he rejected claims that the increase in gross domestic product would mean higher revenues.

Angara said that the disposition of sequestered assets is one of the key revenue generation strategies that can be adopted outside of the traditional revenue and tax sources.

"Money should be raised outside of the tax collection system. This is an imperative so the state can fund its vital projects," he stressed.

He said that the members of the opposition would support the privatization of sequestered assets because they realize that the state could not operate under funding constraints.

Angara said he has asked the finance department and other economic agencies of government to submit a list of the state-owned corporations, which should be placed on the auction block. He contended that the sale would mean a leaner public sector and that the sequestered firms are better left to the private sector.

Meanwhile, Osmena insisted yesterday on cutting the budget next year by P70 billion to P80 billion to keep the government from operating under an unmanageable budget deficit.

He described as "erroneous" the claim of the Department of Finance that a projected increase in revenue follows the increase of the gross domestic product in direct correlation.

He said that a review of the increases in GDP from 1994 showed no direct or consistent correlation with revenues.

He also lamented that the government tax collection is only 13.54 percent of the GDP.

"This is more than 10 percent lower that the generally accepted level of tax take of 25 percent of GDP!" he exclaimed.

He ascribed the low tax take to the porosity of the tax system, poor collection, and excessive and double incentives.