Joker sees ‘economic martial law’

Maverick Sen. Joker Arroyo warned the nation yesterday that President Arroyo wants to impose an "economic martial law" and force the public to pay additional or new taxes.

Arroyo, who is not related to the President but who supported her in the May presidential elections, said he is bothered by the Chief Executive’s admission that the country is in the middle of a fiscal crisis.

"This crisis has been with us for sometime now. It is not as if the government has not known that all along," he said.

He said Mrs. Arroyo waited for an opportune time and "an opening to stampede Congress into mindlessly enacting the terror taxes her advisers have been flaunting."

"The President’s seconds have been preparing the groundwork for an economic martial law, of granting her emergency powers to repair our broken fiscal situation. Over and above that, Malacañang wants a slew of new taxes," he stressed.

However, Arroyo pointed out that the Senate is not prepared to enact tax measures without first finding out who and what contributed to the fiscal crisis and what is wrong with present tax laws.

"Equally important is the accountability of public officers in the revenue services and correcting it. Were Congress to follow Malacañang’s bidding to enact new taxes, what that means is that we will just be giving new toys to the same company of tax officers to mess around with. We are not idiots," he stressed.

Earlier, Arroyo denounced the "tax terrorists" in the President’s Cabinet who, he said, were apparently having their way, given the Chief Executive’s all-out push for new impositions.

Included in the administration’s tax proposals are a P2-per-liter additional levy on gasoline and other petroleum products and a tax on text messaging. The fuel tax is expected to result in a new round of increases in transport fares and prices of consumer products.

The Senate is scheduled to begin tomorrow its investigation into the fiscal crisis. The inquiry will be conducted by the ways and means committee chaired by Sen. Ralph Recto.

Invited to the initial hearing were officials of the Department of Finance, Department of Budget and Management, Bureau of Internal Revenue, Bureau of Customs, National Economic and Development Authority, and Bureau of Treasury.

Also invited were the 11 economists of the University of the Philippines, who have come out with a study predicting that the nation’s economy would collapse in two years if the deficit-borrowing situation were not reversed.

Sen. Manuel Villar Jr., who chairs the finance committee, the panel that scrutinizes the annual budget, said the tight fiscal situation calls for a shared sacrifice on the part of every sector of the population, beginning with government officials and the rich.

"Kailangan lahat magsakripisyo — senador, kongressman, opisyal ng gobyerno, at mga local government unit (Senators, congressmen, government officials, and local government units should sacrifice). That is the bitter pill we have to take," he said in a radio interview.

Asked whether senators are willing to forgo their pork barrel this year to reduce the budget deficit, Villar was non-committal.

He said if all those with such funds in the annual budget would part with their pork barrel, he does not see any reason why senators would not give up their money.

Earlier, Sen. Panfilo Lacson, who has not been availing himself of his annual P200-million pork barrel, urged all senators and congressmen to give up their funds.

That single act of sacrifice alone would save the government at least P15 billion, he said.