Senator Franklin Drilon. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines – 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.
Drilon said in an interview with reporters that he has already discussed with Senator Ralph Recto, sponsor of the bill, and Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile, about going ahead with the debates on Tuesday afternoon.
He said that they will need to pass the sin tax bill first before the 2013 budget because the DOH still had a budget gap that will be filled in by the revenues from sin taxes.
Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile said in a separate interview that the sin tax bill and the 2013 budget are the “priority over all other” measures being discussed in the Senate.
Drilon said “We will defend the need to increase the taxes. We will defend the fact that primarily this is a health measure more than a finance and tax measure because it is accepted that smoking is a major cause of mortality in the Philippines.”
“Excise tax is an effective tool [in] reducing smoking in the country. So it is along these lines that we will defend the need to increase sin taxes on cigarettes which have lagged behind in terms of the GDP growth of the Philippines,” he said.
Drilon said that the revenues from the sin taxes will go to the health sector which is facing a budget gap.
“We need more revenue for the health sector,” he said. The DOH currently has a budget of P54 billion but needs P77.4 billion.
“There is a funding gap, we have to pass the sin tax bill to fill the gap in their budget,” Drilon said.
He said that the gap of almost P24 billion will enable the enrollment of an additional 5.4 million families in PhilHealth. It will also allow for the DOH to repair hospitals and strengthen public health programs, Drilon said.
“If we don’t get additional budget under the sin tax bill, we would not be able to address the budget gap and we would not be able to deliver the services that the government should deliver,” Drilon said.