ROXAS TO GOV'T: DUMP QUESTIONABLE PROJECTS,
SUSPEND VAT ON OIL

If the extra government income from the value-added tax (VAT) on oil will just be squandered on another national broadband network (NBN) or other questionable projects with doubtful benefits to the people, then taxpayers would be better served if they just get their money back.

Sen. Mar Roxas made the statement Sunday, as he stepped up his crusade to get the 12 percent VAT on petroleum products suspended for at least six months, in order to provide consumers instant and material relief from soaring fuel prices.

"The people will surely get a better deal if they simply get their money back now, instead of the government wasting the cash on costly experimental projects that have uncertain and unclear benefits to them (the people)," Roxas said.

The Liberal Party president's remarks came as the Senate prepared to resume its probe on the controversial NBN project, and on reports that the government is bent on building a similar system under supposedly different terms and conditions.

Roxas is chairman of the Senate trade and commerce and author of Senate Bill 1962, which seeks to temporarily lift the VAT on oil for six months, or until global oil prices have stabilized.

"This is an issue of fairness. The people have made heroic sacrifices to improve our fiscal situation. Now it is time and but fair, to put their needs and interests first," Roxas insisted.

Roxas warned that due to abnormally high oil and other commodity prices, the domestic economy risks stalling unless the government promptly takes aggressive steps to revive the buying power of households -- of consumers.

"More than the government, Juan de la Cruz needs the money now. The people need the cash now in their pockets so they can cope with the rapid erosion of their purchasing power as a result of unusually high oil prices," Roxas stressed.

The senator added that his proposal will favor all Filipinos particularly the poor whose incomes are also being eaten up by the high cost of LPG as well as fuel and transport costs.

"It is foolish for government to stick to an early prescription when the ailment has morphed into something else. Noon ang problema ay ang fiscal deficit. Ngayon ang problema ay ang lumalaking pagkakautang at lumalalim na kahirapan ng sarili nating mga mamamayan. There is wisdom in returning some of the money to the people at this difficult time, Let's give our people a break," Roxas insisted.

The chair of the Senate trade and commerce committee said the suspension of EVAT will also help restore people's confidence in government since it will be perceived as a bold move to put people's needs first at a time when most needed.

In a Senate hearing last week, the Department of Finance clarified that the government would waive just P30 billion in annual revenues -- not P54 billion as previously claimed by the Department of Energy (DOE) -- should the VAT on oil be suspended, as proposed by Roxas.

The DOE acknowledged that the suspension of the VAT on oil would effectively reduce pump prices by about P4 to P5 per liter, and in the case of cooking gas, by about P65 per tank.

Meanwhile, the Roxas proposal continues to gather steam with expressions of support from different sectors and militant groups. PISTON, an organization of public transport drivers and operators, continues to press for the EVAT on oil suspension. The Trade Union Congress of the Philippines, with more than a million trade union members, said it sees the need for immediate financial relief to workers and urges the government to further study the Roxas proposal.

Representatives Joseph Emilio Abaya of Cavite, Monico Puentevella of Bacolod City and Bienvenido Abante of Manila, issued separate statements over the weekend, also pushing for the temporary suspension of the VAT on oil.

Abaya and Puentevella are authors of separate bills proposing to suspend the VAT on oil.