Choices for the Senate
By Raul J. PalabricaTwo more days to go and we’re off to the polls to choose our local government officials, congressmen and a new set of senators.
Two more days to go and we’re off to the polls to choose our local government officials, congressmen and a new set of senators.
The self-righteous senators have fallen from their pedestal.
The Senate has ratified a bill that would remove the taxes now being imposed on international carriers and shippers, resulting in more tourist arrivals and lower and more affordable fares.
When, in any dispute involving money, somebody who claims the higher moral ground declares that it is not about the money, immediately we know that, actually, it is all about the money.
When 29-year-old Wanggo Gallaga announced in 2008 that he was infected with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), he was hoping that the people would learn from his mistake.
The sin tax bill was finally approved Tuesday evening after senators concluded their deliberations and amendments on the measure. Certified as urgent by President Aquino, the bill was passed on second and third readings on the same day.
The writing is already on the wall: This battle royal over the “sin tax” bill in the Senate now centers—simply—on the “appropriate” rate of increase in the excise tax on tobacco and alcohol products, and it is no longer about the wondrous splendor of the bill, such as its health benefits and miraculous economic impact.
Senator Franklin Drilon, who took over from Sen. Ralph Recto the chairmanship of the powerful ways and means committee to push for the “sin tax” bill of the Aquino (Part II) administration, insists that the pending bill is both health and revenue measure.
The sin tax bill, which could be passed within November, will fill a budget gap in the Department of Health (DOH), Senator Franklin Drilon said Monday.
Senator Edgardo Angara believes a P30 billion to P40 billion “sweet spot” for the Sin Tax Reform Bill will satisfy all sectors involved in the issue.
Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima and Bureau of Internal Revenue Commissioner Kim Henares denied on Wednesday that they favored the House of Representatives’ version of the sin tax bill that imposed much less taxes on beer and alcohol, as alleged by Sen. Ralph Recto.
“Not the interest of anyone!” Those were the words of Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile, the 88-year-old JPE, commenting on the attacks in media against the Senate version of the “sin” tax bill—the attacks from the Aquino (Part II) administration and supporters of the bill.
