New tax planned for calamity fund

The Department of Finance wants the government to put up a calamity resiliency fund and has proposed the creation of a new tax to generate the cash it will need.

Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima said the proposed fund would finance projects and programs aimed at helping calamity-stricken areas recover quickly. He stressed the importance of such a fund, noting the increasing probability of natural disasters.

“Climate change is for real. If the presence of natural calamities is the new normal, we have to factor this in government planning. This is what we are doing,” Purisima said in an economic forum Tuesday organized by Euromoney.

Since the government still runs on a budget deficit, Purisima said that putting up the calamity resiliency fund would require new sources of cash. He said the DOF was preparing a list of new taxes that the government might impose on the business sector.

Purisima said the business sector would be consulted on the matter for the government to determine the most acceptable form of tax to be created.

“Improving resiliency takes a long time, but what the Aquino administration can do is set up the structure. The [calamity resiliency] fund can be formed through a new levy. As to what specific levy [the government may impose], we are still studying it,” Purisima said.

He said the creation of the proposed fund was proven necessary by Supertyhphoon “Yolanda,” which devastated central Philippines in November. It caused deaths to hundreds of thousands, disrupted business activities and damaged public infrastructure, farms and private assets.

The calamity was believed to have pulled many affected households into poverty and caused job displacements.

Purisima said that aside from the calamity resiliency fund that the national government wanted to put up, another fund from local government units (LGUs) has also been suggested.

He said LGUs could pool their respective disaster funds into one big fund that could be tapped by any LGU affected by a natural calamity.

He said the DOF would consult the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS), which could be tapped to administer the proposed pooling of LGU funds.