Drilon: Sin tax report must be retained
MANILA, Philippines – The Senate ways and means committee report on the so-called sin tax bill – declared withdrawn by resigned panel chairman Ralph Recto – may be retained after all to ensure the passage of the measure at least by December or early January next year, Sen. Franklin Drilon said yesterday.
“For me the committee report must be retained. During the period of amendments, this can be changed, new provisions may be suggested and this will be voted upon in plenary,” Drilon said. “This is what will happen so that there will be no delay.”
In a caucus late yesterday afternoon, the Senate named Drilon as new committee chairman. He was committee vice chair before Recto’s resignation.
Sen. Francis Escudero manifested in last Monday’s plenary session that the committee report should not be treated as Recto’s alone because it carried the signatures of other committee members.
Drilon said the Senate may approve the sin tax bill before Congress adjourns on Dec. 21 or by January after the Christmas break.
Ideally, he said that the bill should be approved before the Senate starts deliberations on the proposed P2- trillion national budget for 2013.
“As long as it does not go beyond January (2013). This can be done and there won’t be a major disadvantage,” Drilon said.
Recto’s resignation has sparked concerns among anti-smoking advocates of delays in the passage of the sin-tax measure.
“I hope that (Recto’s) committee report will be accepted and that there will be a debate with the new committee chairman. If the report will be scrapped, we will start all over again. Most likely, the bill will no longer be approved this year,” Dr. Anthony Leachon, consultant of the Department of Health (DOH) for non-communicable diseases, said in a phone interview.
“The resignation of Sen. Recto should not delay the passage of a strong sin tax bill within the year. Tobacco will kill an estimated one billion people in the 21st century, in absence of aggressive action by government to advance tobacco control,” the Health Justice Philippines (HJP) said in a statement.
“In the Philippines, 240 Filipinos die every single day due to tobacco-related diseases. It is unfortunate that most of Filipino smokers belong to the poorest of the poor. These Filipinos have no means to pay for treatment once disease kicks in. There is also a significant number of youth smokers who will later on face the same problems brought about by tobacco use,” the group said.
“With a substantial increase in tax and the correction of a weak tobacco tax system, the youth and the poor are protected from continuing or starting the habit of smoking. Making it less affordable to these vulnerable sectors is an effective measure in ensuring that their right to health is preserved,” the group added.
For Sorsogon Bishop Arturo Bastes, betel nut and fruit juices can help wean away smokers and alcoholics from their vices.
“Make these sinful luxuries very expensive so that the people can no longer afford to buy them (cigarettes and liquor). Let them chew betel nut or gum and drink fruit juices,” Bastes said. Chewing betel nuts can reportedly help reduce tension and produce a feeling of well being.
He said Recto should also be commended for resigning. “I do believe that the most important concern is the health of our people, not the economic gains from the sales of cigar and alcoholic drinks,” he said.
Hundreds of protesters, mostly tobacco farmers, picketed outside the Senate yesterday to dramatize their protest against the measure. They said the measure is likely to have adverse impact on the lives of three million tobacco farmers, particularly in Northern Luzon.
Recto had drawn flak from some sectors and from some of his colleagues for his “watered down” version of the sin-tax measure. In Recto’s version, the incremental tax take from the measure amounted to P15 billion to P20 billion as against the P31 billion in the House version and P60 billion in Sen. Miriam Santiago’s.
Drilon said he would also introduce an amendment that would reduce the tax classification on tobacco products to two-tier from three-tier under the Recto report.
He said that the two-tier would eventually be eliminated after two years so that there would be a uniform rate for all products.
http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?publicationSubCategoryId=63&articleId=860271
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