Groups want bicam meetings on sin tax open to public

MANILA, Philippines - Civil society groups are asking Congress to open the bicameral conference committee meetings on the sin tax reform bill to the public to avoid insertions that could result in a more “watered-down” measure.

Anthony Leachon, Department of Health consultant on non-communicable diseases, said media must be allowed to cover the bicameral meetings to avoid last-minute insertions by pro-tobacco lawmakers.

The House of Representatives already approved its version of the sin tax measure in June, which would translate to incremental revenues of P31.35 billion in the first year of implementation. The Senate’s version would yield P40 billion.

Both versions, to be reconciled through the bicameral meetings, fell below the government’s original target of P60 billion in incremental revenues.

“We need to make it open so we will prevent killer insertions, knowing that the bicam is shrouded in secrecy,” said Leachon.

Framework Convention on Tobacco Control Alliance Philippines executive director Maricar Limpin added that the deliberations on the sin tax bill should be transparent, “especially with controversies about tobacco companies actively lobbying to water down the bill.”

Meanwhile, Filomeno Sta. Ana III, coordinator of the Action for Economic Reforms, stressed that the passage of Sen. Franklin Drilon’s bill does not mean that the provisions there would be retained after the bicam.

Leachon recalled what happened to the Cybercrime Law where last-minute “killer provisions” were inserted during the bicameral meetings.

The last-minute insertions resulted in higher penalties for libel.

“We don’t want these provisions that will undermine the credibility of the reform and lead to adverse, unintended consequences,” he said.

For instance, Leachon said that the provision mandating all manufacturers to buy 20 percent of Virginia tobacco should be removed.

“This is a violation of Article 3.5 of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade. This makes the law susceptible to being amended and diluted in the future,” he said.

Instead, Leachon urged the bicameral committee to incorporate the best features of the Senate and House of Representatives sin tax versions.

These include the unitary tax structure, indexation to inflation, earmarking of incremental revenues for universal health care and increasing tax rates over the medium and long term.

Antonio Dans of the UP College of Medicine also reminded lawmakers of the bill’s primary health objective.

“What we are losing in this current debate is that the sin tax is a health measure,” Dans said.

Dans objected to the lower unitary tax on cigarettes, which was adjusted from the original P32 in Drilon’s measure to only P26 per pack by 2017.