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measures to ease the impact of high oil prices must be
focused on Juan de la Cruz, and must be felt as soon as
possible. It would seem this is the senators’ counter
view to a Malacañang oil summit that would discuss such
high subjects as improving policy and programs,
attracting technology investments—among others—as
actions to cope with soaring oil prices, reaching $100
to a barrel last week, that impact severely on the
common man.
On
Sunday the chairmen of two key Senate committees said
they would direct attention first to proposals to, among
others, suspend the E-VAT on oil products, lower oil
tariff or exempt minimum-wage earners from income taxes.
As they
prefer direct and simplified solutions, the senators are
also not keen on such proposals as exempting workers
from value-added taxes by way of a rebate of up to
P36,000. Senators say, in agreement with the finance
department, that this is complicated and opens an avenue
for corruption.
The
E-VAT exemption method is being pushed in the House of
Representatives by party-list Rep. Teodoro Casiño, but
the chairman of the Senate’s trade and commerce
committee, Mar Roxas II, said this suggested mechanism
for low-income worker reliefs is “very complex and
cumbersome.”
Finance
Undersecretary Gil Beltran earlier raised the same issue
against the Casiño proposal, but added the apprehension
that it would imperil the state’s revenue stream, noting
how the E-VAT put in more than P200 billion into
government coffers for the first 11 months of 2007.
Sen.
Francis Escudero, who chairs the ways and means
committee tasked to review tax-relief bills, said he
would prefer to scrap the VAT altogether and adopt other
measures that make the country less dependent on
imported oil. “We must review the oil deregulation
law.”
Escudero
also eschewed Malacañang’s initiative to convene a
so-called energy summit. “The summit will not accomplish
anything other than to highlight the ignorance and
incompetence of energy officials who need to call a
summit just to find out what’s going on.”
Malacañang on Sunday replied to all criticisms of the
oil summit, saying President Arroyo intended it to bring
the country’s “best brains” together to able to quickly
“pick [them] on how to best cope with the oil price
hike.”
Palace
officials issued the statement as they countered
allegations of leftist groups the oil summit is nothing
more than a “public relations ploy” of the
administration.
Deputy
presidential spokesman Anthony Golez said in a text
message to reporters the oil price hike is beyond
government control, so that it was its responsibility to
“consult the different stakeholders in the energy sector
so that the mitigating programs of the government can be
very comprehensive.”
And as
it tried to fend off criticisms, the Palace stressed the
administration’s program to spend billions of pesos for
infrastructure that it said would help mitigate the
impact of high world oil prices on Philippine economic
growth.
Another
deputy presidential spokesman, Lorelei Fajardo, said,
“This positive action of the government is aimed at
improving our economy and mitigating the impact of the
world oil price hike.”
Representative Casiño last week filed a House bill
seeking to allow workers earning P300,000 and below to
get tax relief in their income taxes by way of VAT
rebates not exceeding P36,000 upon presentation of
receipts on VAT-able purchases.
On
Sunday, Roxas said he still “favor[s] tax relief, VAT
relief [for oil], and I favor that it be done by
zero-rating petroleum products.” These options, he said,
“will have the broadest, most immediate benefit without
the cumbersome process of having each tax filer
obtaining [it]through individual tax credits.”
Escudero
appears to agree and also wants Congress to “seriously
consider” the feasibility of immediately passing
remedial legislation that would remove the oil VAT,
lower oil tariff, reimpose price ceilings, and prohibit
price manipulation. “We should also spend on research
and development to find alternate and indigenous sources
of energy.”
Roxas
recommended a concrete platform to ease the people’s
plight through the suspension of the E-VAT on petroleum
products, exempting minimum wage earners from income
tax, and ensuring affordability of medicines.
“The
situation now is not regular. The cost of petroleum
products are extremely high. It is better that the
government do the collecting and spending of the E-VAT,
and Juan de la Cruz is the one who earns and spend what
he earns,” explained Roxas.
He said
the same principle applies to the income tax system,
where even minimum wage earners are still being taxed,
yet the people do not feel the benefits coming from how
the government spends these monies. He added that the
situation is unfair, as big-time tax evaders and
smugglers are still on the loose.
Still on
the oil summit, Press Secretary Ignacio Bunye also
brushed aside the claim of militant group Bagong
Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan) the oil summit would not
result in any concrete mitigating measures. “Precisely,
the purpose of the summit is to discuss all possible
remedies, programs and policies including developments
in infrastructures….So this will be wide-ranging and we
will be discussing all matters related.”
Bunye
added, “The summit is for all stakeholders and who are
the stakeholders? The oil players, the oil consumers,
those who are affected by the possible oil crisis. It’s
better than not doing anything at all, and we expect
some positive discussions as a result of the summit.”
He said
militant groups are not likely to be invited to the
summit especially since they feel the event would not
yield anything positive.
Bunye
said Energy Secretary Angelo Reyes will spend the next
two weeks preparing for the summit as directed by the
Chief Executive on Friday, when world crude prices rose
to $100 following the drop in US stockpiles.
In her
Friday directive to Reyes, the President said the summit
agenda should include measures to enhance policies and
programs, attract invesments in technology, launch
development projects “that would impact favorably on
energy supplies and prices while helping significantly
arrest climate change.”
The
President had also directed the Department of Energy to
coordinate with the Department of Trade and the
Department of Finance “to come up with recommendations
on a possible reduction of tariff on oil.” |
