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THE
government’s position on the removal of the expanded
value-added tax (E-vat) on electricity rates hinges on a
review being conducted by Finance Secretary Margarito
Teves, Palace officials said Wednesday.
Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita said in his weekly
news briefing that Teves has been conducting the study
for over a month now, since lawmakers began calling for
the scrapping of the E-VAT on oil and power to help
consumers cope with rising living costs.
“The
Secretary of Finance, as a senior member of the economic
team, is already conducting a study....It is the DOF
[Department of Finance], with help of the other
economic managers, that is conducting such a study so
that we will know our position and reaction to the
suggestion on scrapping VAT on fuel,” Ermita said.
He said
that “on the surface, it is popular but, in the long
term, we don’t know how it would affect our projects.
Any call for the exemption of E-VAT has to be part of
the study because it’s one [thing] to say exempt them,
it’s another to say where do we get the money to push
for our projects that are very, very important.” The
people don’t know the importance of a wide road, a
bridge, an improvement of our natural resources....The
people don’t know the ill effects, the bigger picture,”
he said.
For now,
he said, “I cannot say with definiteness whether we
would agree to it. What is important is that (the E-vat)
has a purpose. It has been studied that the billions of
pesos we are able to collect through E-vat can be used
for other government projects,” Ermita said.
Case of
ERC’s
Albano clarified
Ermita
also clarified allegations that the Chief Executive had
asked chairman Rodolfo Albano of the Energy Regulatory
Commission (ERC) to go on leave while the joint
congressional probe on the Manila Electric Co. (Meralco)
was taking place.
He said
that he was present when the President met with Albano,
and the latter informed Mrs. Arroyo that he was due for
a vacation leave but can cancel the trip to attend the
hearings.
“She
[Mrs. Arroyo] said, ‘No, no you can go.’ She already got
the answers to the questions....The President didn’t
prevent him from going,” Ermita said. |
