Sen. Bam on measure suspending excise tax under TRAIN Law
(Transcript of Sen. Bam's interview with Karen Davila)

KD: You filed a measure suspending the excise tax of the TRAIN law, explain what exactly do you want temporarily suspended?

Sen. Bam: Well Karen, unang-una kailangan munang mag-preno sa TRAIN, marami nang nasasagasaan dito. We go around the different communities; mga urban poor and rural poor communities, at ito talaga ang pangunahing problema ng mga kababayan natin - yung presyo ng mga bilihin. Maraming nagkwekwento sa akin "Sen., ito pong pagtaas ng presyo hindi na namin kaya, mataas na nga ito dati tinaas pa ng gobyerno." And I think this is genuinely felt by a lot of Filipinos.

If you look at the way the TRAIN was created, it does provide relief for the middle and upper classes, mga taong may sweldo o may buwanang nakukuhang salary, pero yung karamihan ng mga Pilipino mapapamahal po sila doon sa pagtaas ng bilihin, at gusto nating i-suspend yung pagtaas ng presyo ng petroleum products. So in the measure that we filed, if the inflation rate goes above the target range of the Bangko Sentral then government should automatically suspend the excise taxes on petroleum products.

KD: But is it going above?

Sen. Bam: Yes, the target range ng BSP is 4%, that's the upper range hindi lalagpas ng 2-4%, but we're already at 4.4% now. Ang Bangko Sentral nagsabi na sila na yung forecast would at 4.6%, ibig sabihan niyan na-overshoot na ng inflation yung ating target range na acceptable sa ating bansa. Ibig sabihin niyan yung na-predict nila na pagtaas ng presyo ng bilihin na hindi daw mangyayari ay nangyayari na. It's already happening.

Kaya doon sa panukala natin: if in 3 consecutive months the target range is breached then you automatically suspend the excise taxes.

Ito yung interesting diyan Karen, when we were deliberating this in the Senate we already put this in the Senate version at pumasa ito sa Senate version. This safeguard, nandiyan 'yan sa Senate version - na kapag lumampas sa inflation target range, pwedeng i-suspend yung excise taxes. Pero sa bicam, suddenly natanggal ito. Wala na ito sa bicam. So there is precedent for this particular measure na nasuportahan ng mga kapwa senador natin.

Wala siya in the final version, so it's not in the law anymore, but in the Senate version nakapasa siya. What I'm trying to do is bring back this original provision na nasuportahan ng mga kapwa senador natin, we put it in at masigurado natin na magkaroon ng mekanismo na mapreno muna ang TRAIN.

KD: Kailangan lang ba Senado o you need the House to support?

Sen. Bam: We need both. But I'm hoping that yung mga kapwa legislators natin makikinig naman sa taumbayan at maglalagay ng mekanismo kung saan pwedeng itigil muna itong pagtaas ng presyo. From January of 2019, there's another scheduled increase because of TRAIN.

KD: Yung 2019 pagdating sa gasolina, is it P2.00?

Sen. Bam: It's about P2.00

KD: P2.00 kasi ngayong buwan (inaudible)

Sen. Bam: Meron ng P2.65 para sa gasoline, for diesel it's P2.50 and for kerosene P3.00.

KD: So another P2.00 in 2019, kasi total nito P6.00 correct?

Sen. Bam: Yes. Karen, ang sinasabi ng economic managers natin hindi lang naman daw TRAIN ang nagpataas ng presyo. That's actually the truth. Maraming rason kung bakit tumataas ang presyo ng bilihin, pero ano ba yung kontrolado natin? We don't control the price of oil, price of crude oil in the market; we don't control our exchange rate, pero yung kontrolado ng gobyerno ay itong TRAIN dahil pinataw nitong TRAIN sa mga petroleum products. Yung isa pang kontrolado natin ay yung presyo ng bigas, because as we've been talking about previously yung mismanagement of NFA, yun yung nagdulot ng pagtaas ng presyo ng bigas. So itong dalawa kailangang hanapan ng solusyon.

Yung pagdating sa bigas, alam ko may mga measures na diyan para mapa-improve iyan at mapababa ang presyo ng bigas.

Itong pangalawa ay ang TRAIN , palagay ko kailangan na nating aminin na hindi na-kontrol ang pagtaas ng presyo, at kailangan na ng mekanismo para mapababa ang presyo ng mga bilihin.

KD: Senator, what went wrong, I remember speaking to Finance Secretary Sonny Domingo na if you use the example during GMA's time wherein there was VAT and an increase of 2% inflation rate, there was no price increase, what went wrong now?

Sen. Bam: Well pagpunta mo sa mahihirap na lugar, Karen, ang sinasabi nila "Sir tignan mo yung presyo ng mga bilihin napakataas na". Even in the hearing last week pinag-usapan kung ano ba yung mga tumataas na presyo at lumalabas talaga na karamihan ng mga binibili ng mahihirap nating kababayan yun rin talaga yung tumataas. So kailangang balansihin natin, hindi pwedeng puro "Build, Build, Build" tayo, talagang nakatutok tayo dito, hindi naman nababalanse yung buhay ng ating mga kababayan.

Another thing na we're not talking about na ito palang dapat i-suspend na yung TRAIN - the financial assistance for the poor na nakalagay sa batas ay hindi pa nai-implement ng DSWD nang buo; they've only reached maybe less than 4 million out of 10 million families and it's already May.

Mayo na ngayon and during the time that we voted for this ito yung pangunahing reason kung bakit tayo nag-no sa TRAIN, sabi natin, at the minimum dapat sabay yung implementation. Magtataas kayo ng presyo dapat naman yung tulong para sa mga mahihirap nakahanda na. But it's already May and they haven't implemented it fully at during the last hearing nabanggit ng representative ng DSWD baka sa September pa nila ito makumpleto. The bottom 10 million families, araw-araw yun ang concern nila. Hindi mo pwedeng sabihin na "magtiis ka muna, sa September na yung tulong sa iyo". Yun pa lang dapat suspended na yung TRAIN kasi hindi pa talaga handa yung implementation. Now come January magtataas na naman tayo.

KD: Is there any way for you to prevent the January increase on excise tax?

Sen. Bam: Well if we do this, if there's a mechanism based on inflation pwede mong i-suspend yung excise taxes then pwede mong ibaba yung presyo ng petrolyo. Hopefully kapag binaba mo yung presyo ng petrolyo other products will also follow.

KD: But then Senator, if you don't have the support of the House, let's say for this immediate suspension, is there any other way where at least the next (inaudible) is prevented?

Sen. Bam: Walang provision sa batas. The only other safeguard is based on the price of oil, na pag na-breach na yung 80. It's already at 71 now, and I think yun pa lang nagulat na yung gobyerno na aabot ng 71. But the problem is, what if it maintains at 78 or 79?

Kahapon nasa Kongreso ako ng taumbayan, it's an event by a couple of NGOs and we were there with urban poor communities at sabi ko nga sa kanila, "Alam niyo kung yung ingay at hinaing ninyo narinig ng mga senador at congressman nung Disyembre baka hindi napasa itong TRAIN 1."

Kaya lang, as they said, parang nabigla daw sila. Sabi ko ngayon kailangan talaga marinig ng mga leaders ninyo, your congressmen at senador, na mahirap talaga itong nangyayari sa buhay natin.

We need to do the right thing to represent the people, so maybe that's the way that we can convince the congressmen and other senators to support this bill for people to actually say "mabigat na itong nangyayari, pagaanin niyo naman itong sitwasyon namin".

KD: But then do you have the government, in fact I think Department of Finance, saying if you suspend this what would happen is free college tuition will be affected other than the Build, Build, Build and other programs of government.

Sen. Bam: Hindi talaga totoo iyan, that's really not true. It's not true because ang mare-raise lang naman ng TRAIN ay a hundred and thirty billion, and your budget is about 4 trillion so kung tutuusin for this year ang mare-raise lang ng TRAIN napakaliit compared to the annual actual budget. Your annual budget is the one na nagbibigay ng pondo sa mga proyektong iyan but at the end of the day, it goes back to the senators and congressmen to decide what are their priorities, so I'm sure among the senators Legarda, Lacson, Gatchalian, myself or everyone, Senator Recto or everyone in the Committee on Finance, we will be able to find space; kung kailangang i-suspend yung excise taxes at pagaanin muna yung sitwasyon ng ating mga kababayan we will find a fiscal space to be able to fund this project.

KD: Would you proactively look for a congressman who will make sure that a counterpart measure is found in the House?

Sen. Bam: There is already support. Marami naman tayong counterparts diyan. But this goes beyond politics, Karen. Ito kasi we're looking at 10 million families--bottom 10 million, karamihan sa kanila hindi pa nakukuha yung suporta mula sa gobyerno na nakalagay sa TRAIN at naka-budget na. Marami diyan meron talagang matinding hinaing na masyado nang mataas ang presyo ng bilihin. This is more than half of the Filipino people. We need to find a way to lighten the burden for them.

KD: If you succeed, what timetable are we talking about for the suspension that's realistic?

Sen. Bam: Sa totoo lang, kung hindi natanggal sa bicam yung provision na 'yon, suspended na yun ngayon. Because again we look at the inflation rate now, the reason why I think they agreed.

KD: But (inaudible) the senators who agreed to remove it?

Sen. Bam: No, the bicam was the one.

KD: Pero may senator (inaudble)

Sen. Bam: Yes, I'm not sure what their reasons are, but they did take it out sa bicam. But if you look at yung paglagay ng probisyon na iyon, the DOF at the time agreed at the Senate level, because they were quite confident na hindi lalampas ng 4% yung ating inflation rate. But it did, it has already. In fact. yung BSP ang bagong target ay 4.6% na so we have to admit may mga assumptions tayo when we pushed for this law na mali. If we admit na meron talagang mali at may pagtaas na hindi inaasahan, mayroon tayong rason kung bakit dapat i-suspend muna ito.

KD: An appeal to President Duterte, senator do you think that will work? If he pushes it and orders it, will that do enough?

Sen. Bam: I think so, I think that will be enough. Of course the Department of Finance is under the President. But again, hopefully we can just really look at kung ano yung kailangan ng tao. Babalik ako Karen, may mga hindi tayo kontrolado sa pagtaas ng presyo ng bilihin, but there are a few that we control. And I think we need to put in a mechanism where, when prices are already overshooting the inflation range, kapag masyado ng mataas meron dapat tayong proseso na pwede itong ibaba ulit.

KD: I'm curious before we go in turn to the Senate schedule, is it possible for you to call a hearing regarding the matter?

Sen. Bam: Well this will have to referred first to the Committee on Ways and Means. Hopefully mapag-uusapan namin ito. Again, this is a measure that has passed already in the Senate version. So siguro naman sa Senado hindi na tayo mahihirapan kasi naipasa na ito noon. By the way Karen, 'pag bumalik naman sa target range yung inflation babalik naman ulit yung excise taxes, yung concern lang natin dito is 'pag hindi na natin ma-control yung presyo ng bilihin may paraan tayo na pwede itong ibaba. So it's a mechanism basically, alam ko there are some who are saying na i-suspend the whole law, meron tayong parte ng batas na gusto natin gaya ng adjustments sa take-home pay. We're really zeroing in on what we think is the main reason kung bakit tumataas yung presyo ng bilihin.

KD: Which is fuel alone?

Sen. Bam: Which is fuel, hopefully that at least that measure, if we adjust that measure, it will have an effect on other products as well.

KD. Alright, on that note. Senator Bam Aquino, thank you so much for that!