'Bill scrapping oil tax not a priority'

MANILA, Philippines - Malacañang rebuffed yesterday persistent lobbying by militant groups led by Bayan Muna Rep. Teddy Casiño to scrap tax on oil, saying their pet bill is not among those being prioritized by the Aquino administration.

Deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said that House Bill 2719, which Casiño claimed was filed as early as August 2010, was not even included in the list of 23 bills that the Palace turned over to the Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council (LEDAC).

“I don’t know if that has been discussed. To my knowledge, it wasn’t discussed when the President had the meeting with LEDAC. I don’t remember it being discussed in the list of bills that would be considered as priority under the Aquino administration,” Valte said over state-run radio dzRB.

She said it would be up to Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. to pass measures they want to pass, especially because the House leadership has its own set of priorities, which the Palace cannot dictate on.

Valte also apologized to Casiño, now on his third and last term, for not being aware of the “entire legislative history” of the bill he is pushing.

Casiño said that a bill seeking to scrap VAT is already gathering dust in Congress.

He said HB 2719 has not been given attention by members of the House of Representatives until now and lamented that it was still pending in the ways and means committee despite the clamor of many sectors to repeal the unpopular law.

He also challenged Davao Rep. Isidro Ungab, ways and means committee chair, to fast-track the bill and defy Malacañang’s marching orders “to prioritize the interest of big oil companies while ignoring the plight of our people.”

Malacañang is not keen on the proposal of Vice President Jejomar Binay and former budget secretary Benjamin Diokno for a cut in the expanded value added tax (E-VAT) on fuel products, whose prices have been continuously rising in the past weeks.

Valte said temporarily suspending the imposition of the VAT on oil will mean loss of revenue, slashing of funds for social programs and people being denied benefits.

She also refused to commit on at least reducing the VAT from its present 12- percent rate especially amid the various government infrastructure projects and the forthcoming 2013 and 2016 elections, adding that reducing it from 12 to 10 percent also requires more study.

PPP seen as alternative

House Majority Leader and Madaluyong City Rep. Neptali Gonzales II called for wider implementation of the government’s Pantawid Pasada Program (PPP) instead of lifting the imposition of VAT on oil and other petroleum products. – Paolo Romero, Mayen Jaymalin