CRISPIN BELTRAN, a pillar of the militant labor movement who survived persecution during martial rule, the crackdown on Left-leaning activists after Edsa 1 and imprisonment under the current administration, died Tuesday in a most ironic tragedy: He was doing the most mundane of chores, fixing the roof of his Quezon City house, when he fell.

THE frenzy to determine—and curb—the extent to which value-added taxes (VAT) have been imposed on the power sector has seized both houses of Congress.

Four party-list representatives filed a bill seeking to lift the VAT on electricity—Reps. Teodoro Casiño and Satur Ocampo of Bayan Muna and Liza Maza and Luzviminda Ilagan of Gabriela. They included Anakpawis Rep. Crispin Beltran, who died in an accident at his home hours before the bill’s filing, as coauthor of House Bill 4162.

PANGLAO, Bohol —Instead of an outright reduction in the cost of electricity, Malacañang announced Tuesday that it has formed a study group to check the facts and other allegations about  alleged excessive collections by the Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) among its customers.

THE Senate ways and means committee endorsed for plenary approval on Tuesday its own version of the income-tax reform bill granting automatic exemptions to minimum-wage earners and providing relief to all individual taxpayers by adjusting their personal and additional exemptions to approximate the increase in inflation since 1997.

THE national government paid back more than it borrowed from foreign creditors in the first four months, the Department of Finance (DOF) said Tuesday.

Finance Secretary Margarito Teves, whose position was finally approved by the powerful Committee on Appointments also yesterday, has authorized payments that covered P45.31 billion worth of foreign debts during the period.

AN economist is already worried poverty in the Philippines will worsen with the rising prices of food and other essential commodities because budgets of the poor are skewed toward food, particularly rice and corn, whose prices have doubled in the world market. The Philippines is a net importer of rice and the biggest buyer in the world.

In a briefing at the University of Asia and the Pacific (UA&P), economist Cid Terosa said a university simulation underlined the abysmal income distribution in the Philippines—so that while everyone is affected by high prices, the lower 30 percent are in a very dreadful position, and eating just once a day may become the norm.

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Convergys bets on RP. Andrea Ayers, Convergys’ Customer Management head, briefs the media on the company’s opening of fi ve new sites as part of its fast-growing operations in the Philippines. The sites will result in employment for up to 7,000 more Filipino workers. The press briefi ng was held in a Makati City hotel.  --NONIE REYES