Noy endorses RH, sin tax bills By Cheryl M.

Arcibal The Philippine Star Updated July 23, 2012 07:00 PM 4 comments to this post MANILA, Philippines - President Benigno Simeon Aquino III on Monday endorsed two of the most contentious bills pending in Congress - the sin tax bill to boost the government's coffers and the reproductive health bill, which seeks to address the country's swelling population. Aquino said the sin tax bill, which is seen to add some P33 billion to government revenues, will enable the government to fund needed social services for Filipinos as well as discourage the youth from smoking and alcohol drinking. The President said challenges remain in the country's effort to provide quality health care to its citizens and that resources are needed to provide these services. "We can easier fulfill all these goals, if the Sin Tax Bill - which rationalizes taxes on alcohol and tobacco products - can be passed. This bill makes vice more expensive while at the same time raising more money for health," Aquino said. He added that the government is doing its best to address the backlog of school classrooms and said there is a need to pass the Responsible Parenthood Bill to keep the number of students from increasing exponentially. "We are ending the backlogs in the education sector, but the potential for shortages remains are our student population continues to increase. Perhaps Responsible Parenthood can help address this," Aquino said. The Presidents mention of the Responsible Parenthood Bill, which is opposed by the influential Catholic Church, drew the longest applause from a gallery of lawmakers, cabinet members, and diplomats, among others. Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. earlier urged his colleagues in the House of Representatives to vote on the reproductive health bill during the resumption of the 15th Congress. Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile, meanwhile, said the Senate may be unable to pass the bill this year because several senators still have so many questions regarding the controversial measure. Shoal dispute Aquino also refused to back down in the country's dispute with China over a number of territories at the South China Sea. "We demonstrated utmost forbearance in dealing with this issue. As a sign of our goodwill, we replaced our Navy cutter with a civilian boat as soon as we could. We chose not to respond to

their media harangues. I do not think it excessive to ask that our rights be respected, just as we respect their rights as a fellow nation in a world we need to share," Aquino said. Manila and Beijing have been in a standoff over Panatag Shoal (Scarborough Shoal) since April following discovery of eight Chinese fishing vessels in the disputed waters. The Philippine Navy was supposed to arrest the Chinese fishermen but was prevented when large Chinese government ships intervened. Aquino vowed that the government will continue to pursue the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) modernization program. "After only one year and seven months, we have been able to allocate over P28 billion for the AFP Modernization Program. This will soon match the 33 billion pesos set aside for the program in the past 15 years. And were only getting started: if our proposed AFP modernization bill is passed in Congress, we will be able to allocate P75 billion for defense within the next five years," Aquino said. He added that the $30-million fund given entrusted to Manila by Washington for the Defense Capability Upgrade and Sustainment of Equipment Program of the AFP is now ready as well. "This is in addition to their assistance in improving the way we patrol our shores under the Coast Watch Center of the Philippines, which will soon be established," Aquino said. The AFP, he disclosed, is also canvassing wares such as cannons, personnel carriers, and frigates. "Before long, the BRP Ramon Alcaraz, our second Hamilton class cutter, will drop anchor, to partner with the BRP Gregorio del Pilar. We are not sending paper boats out to sea. Now, our 36,000 kilometers of coastline will be patrolled by more modern ships," Aquino said. The AFP is also told to clean up its hangars as two more C-130s will once again be operational and the military will soon acquire 21 refurbished UH-1H helicopters, four combat utility helicopters, 10 attack helicopters, two naval helicopters, to light aircraft and other air force protection equipment as well. "We are not doing this because we want to be an aggressor; we are not doing this because we want an escalation. This is about keeping the peace, this is about protecting ourselves something that we have long thought impossible," Aquino added. Past administrations offenses not forgotten The President also said he is unable to "forget" offenses committed against the nation, stopping short of mentioning the cases and charges against his predecessor Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and ousted Chief Justice Renato Corona.

"This is why, to the next Chief Justice, much will be demanded of you by our people. We have proven the impossible possible; now, our task is reform towards true justice that continues even after our administration," he said. The government will also continue programs that would directly benefit the poor including the expansion of the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. coverage, and the conditional cash transfer or the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program. Two issues, however, were not mentioned during the President's third SONA - the Freedom of Information Bill and the amendments to the economic provisions of the 1987 Constitution.
http://www.philstar.com/nation/article.aspx?publicationsubcategoryid=63&articleid=830516

Lawmakers urge fair 'sin tax' bill

By Jess Diaz (The Philippine Star) Updated July 03, 2012 12:00 AM Comments (0)

MANILA, Philippines - A multi-party group of lawmakers, including militant party-list representatives, urged the Senate yesterday to come up with a fair and reasonable sin tax reform bill. Zambales Rep. Mitos Magsaysay said a proposed law that increases the tax on tobacco products like cigarettes by as much as 700 percent is unfair and unreasonable. By all means, let us adjust the tax, but let us protect hundreds of thousands of tobacco farmers and factory workers and their families, she said. She said a drastic tax increase could eliminate the market for low-priced tobacco products and result in the dislocation of farmers and workers. She accused the bills authors of favoring fermented liquor like beer, which she said would mostly get a tax break, instead of an increase. Rep. Victor Ortega of La Union, a tobacco-producing province, asked the Senate to draft and approve a better version of the sin tax reform bill. We are not against an increase, but it should be calibrated in a way that it should not hurt farmers, he said. He explained that a tobacco farmer sells both high-quality and poor-quality leaves.
http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?publicationSubCategoryId=66&articleId=823389

The Sin Tax Bill: Promoting the Nations Health and Plugging Lucio Tans Loophole for Legal Tax Evasion The Philippines has scandalously low taxes on two commodities that have been proven killers of individuals, destroyers of families, and threats to national economic security: cigarettes and spirits. Smokers Nirvana The current multi-tiered tax system has made cigarettes so much cheaper in the Philippines than in other countries. A pack of the most popular foreign-brand cigarettes costs on the average P27.72 in the Philippines, compared to P365.2 in Singapore, P146.08 in Malaysia, P104.84 in Thailand, and P64.68 in Indonesia. The reason cigarettes are so cheap in the Philippines is that excise taxes on them have not been indexed to inflation and the classification of the different brands remains what it was in 1996. For instance, Fortune and Champion, two brands, continue to be classified as low price and taxed at P2.72 per pack, whereas they should now be classified as premium and taxed at P28.30 per pack. Likewise, Hope and Winston are classified as medium and taxed at P7.56 per pack instead of being reclassified as premium and taxed at P28.30 per pack. The biggest beneficiary of the current, unreformed system is the merged conglomerate of Lucio Tans Fortune Tobacco and the transnational firm Philip Morris, which has controlled some 95 per cent of market over the last 15 years. This conglomerate represents the worst of all possible worlds for health advocates, proponents of equitable tax reform, and groups seeking corporate accountability: a transnational alliance headed by a notorious tax evader engaged in the production of a deadly commodity that is being squeezed out in other parts of the world by rising global health consciousness. In essence, the current excise tax system governing tobacco and alcohol constitutes a mechanism for legal tax evasion by Lucio Tan and his transnational partners. The Costs of the Unreformed System The failure to reform the excise tax has allowed the tobacco monopoly to keep prices artificially low while reaping billions of pesos in profit at the expense of national health. The smoking prevalence rate for the Philippines is 28.3meaning nearly 30 per cent of the population smokes. Comparable rates are 13.6 for Singapore, 20.7 for Thailand, and 21.5 for Malaysia. The Philippines now ranks 9th in the work in terms of the adult male smoking population and 16th in the adult female smoking population. From 2003 to 2007, there was a staggering 40% increase in the youth smoking prevalence to 27.3%. Tobacco is a killer, but it kills off proportionally more of the poor than the rich. 300,000 people now die yearly from smoking-related diseases, and the majority of them come from the poor. This is not surprising since four out of ten of the poorest 20 per cent of Filipino

adults are current smokers, compared to one out of four of the richest 20 per cent who smoke regularly. Liquor has also been kept artificially cheap by low excise taxes and outdated classification. 50% of road accidents is due to drunk driving deaths. Alcohol consumption is estimated to cause from 20% to 50% of liver cirrhosis, epilepsy, poisonings, violence and several types of cancer. 2.5 million people die annually from harmful alcohol use; this comes to 4 per cent of all deaths. Components of the Sin Tax Bill The long overdue revision of the excise taxes on alcohol and tobacco products HB 5727the socalled Sin Tax Billwill be debated on the floor of the House of Representatives in the next few days, with its proponents seeking approval of the bill on final reading by the time the body adjourns its second session of the 15th Congress ends on June 6. The bill will increase tax rates on tobacco and alcohol products, adopt a simplified tax system for these products, index the taxes to inflation, and remove the freeze on price classifications. Under the bill, for instance, the tax on cigarettes packed by machine will rise from P2.72 to P12 per pack. This will create a massive disincentive to smoking, especially among the youth who are at an age when they are most vulnerable to seduction by the tobacco industry but still lack the means to support this habit. According to the Action for Economic Reform (AER) and other advocates, the bill, if passed, will generate P33 billion in new revenue annually. Part of the income stream will finance the expansion of the Universal Health Care Program (UHC), so that it can provide better health care services, especially for poor Filipinos. The added funds will contribute significantly towards alleviating the smoking-related disease burden that was estimated at P177.2 billion in 2011. Disinformation by the Tobacco Lobby In its effort to prevent the so-called Sin Tax bill from becoming law, the tobacco industry has spread a lot of misinformation about the effects of the bill on workers and tobacco farmers. But, according to AER, there are relatively few workers left in tobacco manufacturing, which is becoming more and more capital intensive in production technology. As for tobacco farmers many of them in the so-called Solid North of the countrythe prices they have been getting for their product have been dropping owing to the monopoly control of the industry, leading many of them to shift to more profitable crops than tobacco. To ease their transition to other crops, farmers will get earmarked funds equivalent to 15 per cent of the incremental revenues from tobacco taxes that will be devoted to safety nets and alternative livelihood projects. The winners are many should the Sin Tax Bill pass: the nations health, the economy, youth, the poor, the future. The losers are a handful of dubious characters: Lucio Tan and his transnational corporate buddies. The choice confronting our legislators is clear.
http://opinion.inquirer.net/29837/the-sin-tax-bill-promoting-the-nations-health-and-plugging-luciotans-loophole-for-legal-tax-evasion

Senate could pass sin tax bill by years end, says Recto MANILA, PhilippinesSenator Ralph Recto on Wednesday expressed confidence Senate will be able to pass the sin tax bill by the end of the year.

Im very optimistic, Recto told reporters in a chance interview after the committee hearing of the Senate committee on food and agriculture.

Recto said that the Senate committee on ways and means would begin its first hearing on sin taxes on Thursday next week.

The sin tax bill seeks to boost revenues from taxes on tobacco and alcoholic beverages, to augment government funding for health services.

It is my duty to pass this measure, a fair measure, taking into account the interest of all stakeholders, Recto said.

He said the bill would be tackled in the Senate between October and November so that it would not coincide with budget deliberations set in September.

The Sin Tax bill or House Bill 5727, a proposed measure seeking to increase taxes on tobacco and alcoholic beverages, has been approved by the House of Representatives before it adjourned sine die last June.