PALACE WARNS NOYNOY ON TAX PROMISES / NOYNOY: NO NEW TAXES IF ELECTED
MANILA, JANUARY 23, 2010 (STAR) Presidential aspirant Sen. Benigno Aquino III’s promise not to impose new taxes sounds nice but could be similar to what a former American president pledged and reneged after election, a Malacañang spokesman said yesterday.Deputy presidential spokesman Gary Olivar said in 1988, then US vice president George H.W. Bush gave his now infamous “read my lips, no new taxes” campaign promise, which propelled him to victory as the country’s 41st president.
Last Thursday, Aquino made the same promise before members of the Makati Business Club, saying that he would refrain from raising taxes or imposing new taxes if elected president.
Olivar was quick to point out that the same promise was made and broken by former President Bush not long after he assumed office.
“When you promise no new taxes, given our deficit issues, then you may risk doing what happened to the elder George Bush when he made the same promise during his campaign, then I think less than a year later, he raised taxes,” he said.
He pointed out that the pressure of a widening budget deficit was too much for Mr. Bush to stand by his word.
“The pressure of the deficit during his time was very heavy and the same goes for our current situation. So it would be difficult to make such a promise when it comes to the issues of deficits and taxes,” Olivar said.
He said the statements from Aquino could easily be considered as pandering as he was making a promise before an audience that obviously favored such a scenario. – Marvin Sy
No new taxes if elected - Noynoy By Aurea Calica (The Philippine Star) Updated January 22, 2010 12:00 AM
MANILA, Philippines - Liberal Party standard-bearer Sen. Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III yesterday promised businessmen that once he is elected as president, there would be no tax increases or new taxes.
Speaking in a forum sponsored by the Makati Business Club (MBC), Aquino also said he would give them a “level playing field” free of cronyism, and likewise vowed to streamline the approval process for new enterprises as well as regular business transactions with the government.
Aquino topped a December survey by the MBC with an approval rating of 61 percent, followed by administration standard-bearer Gilbert Teodoro with 14 percent. Nacionalista Patry presidential candidate Sen. Manuel Villar Jr. followed with seven percent; Sen. Richard Gordon with three percent, and former President Joseph Estrada with one percent. Fourteen percent of the respondents were undecided.
Aquino said the next president is inheriting a government with a bloating deficit which has already reached P272.5 billion, 4.1 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP).
“In addressing the looming fiscal crisis, good governance and the drive against corruption are critical components in our strategy. We will refrain from imposing new taxes or increasing tax rates,” Aquino said.
“I strongly believe that we can collect more taxes at the BIR (Bureau of Internal Revenue) and higher duties at Customs if we become more serious in curbing and punishing tax evasion and smuggling. The BIR’s collection dropped by 5.5 percent, while that of Customs declined by 16.6 percent. This is the first time in recent history that absolute revenues have actually declined,” he said.
Aquino said his administration will recapture a good part of the revenue leaks by going after smugglers and tax evaders.
“In this effort, we will not be starting from zero. Be assured that those smugglers and evaders are not faceless and unknown entities,” he said.
Aquino said the easing of the tax burden will enable businesses to expand and create more jobs.
“I believe that markets are better than government in spotting where the growth opportunities are, and, with universal low tax rates, we will encourage entrepreneurs and enterprises to invest and create jobs in any industry. We will, therefore, pursue the rationalization of fiscal incentives early in my administration,” he added.
Aquino said he targets to grow the country’s revenue base by raising the tax effort to at least 15 percent from the current 13 percent. The country’s tax-to-GDP ratio peaked at 17 percent during the Ramos administration.
“If we can only bring this back even to just the 15 percent level, that will translate to P150 billion in additional revenues, which would make a significant dent in cutting our deficit,” he said.
“My budget team estimates that for 2009 alone, around P280 billion of our national budget was lost to corruption. If we take the years 2002 to 2009, the total estimates exceed one trillion. Estimates vary, but everyone agrees that the numbers are huge,” he added.
Along with addressing tax issues, Aquino also promised “fair competition” in the business sector amid widespread perception that success in Philippine business depends on special ties to the government.
He said this system has hindered players from performing in the global market where “special relationships” do not apply.
“Because of this, some players in the industry are forced to focus their activities on maintaining relationships in order to retain favors... This has fostered the wrong kind of competitiveness. While it may work locally, for now, it has not enabled these players to become competitive in the world market where the rules of the game do not take special relationships into consideration,” he said. – With Dino Maragay
VILLAR: THEY'RE GANGING UP ON ME By Christina Mendez (STAR)
Sen. Manuel Villar Jr. said his Senate colleagues, including rivals in the presidential race, are ganging up on him on the C-5 road controversy.
“Those who voted against me, including (Sen. Benigno) Noynoy Aquino and all members of the Liberal Party, the Puwersa ng Masang Pilipino, along with others who are running in the national elections and even those who were supposed to run in the presidency, they are ganging up on me,” Villar said over radio dzRH. “It’s obviously politics.” Villar is the Nacionalista Party standard-bearer in the May elections.
“They’ve been raising this issue for two years already and all the witnesses they have summoned have cleared me. Suddenly there is this P6 billion,” he said.
“How can I return the P6 billion? I did not get a single peso. This is a project of the Department of Public Works and Highways and the Toll Regulatory Board,” he said in Filipino.
“I hope when they politicize issues, they would spare me because I value my name dearly. I only wanted to help our countrymen. As I said, six million people from Cavite, Laguna, Parañaque will directly benefit from the C-5 Road project,” he added.
A new twist in the road scandal has emerged with the release of a report by the Senate Committee of the Whole censuring Villar and asking him to return P6 billion to the government.
In Committee Report 780, Villar’s colleagues accused him of unduly using his influence in the diversion of the road projects under the C-5 Road Extension project to benefit his vast real estate properties in Las Piñas. Some P6.2 billion may have been lost as a result of the diversions.
The release of the report reportedly spawned a plot to unseat Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile. The Senate will tackle the report on Monday.
On learning of the alleged plot, an indignant Enrile said he might reorganize the Senate even if there was barely two weeks left before the adjournment of Congress on Feb. 5.
Senate Majority Leader Juan Miguel Zubiri said it would be impractical to reorganize the chamber.
“I would suggest to the Senate President to maintain the status quo. If we reorganize the committee chairmanships, there will be the conduct of new hearings that might stuck up the legislative agenda,” Zubiri said.
“We are down to six session days... we cannot waste time in passing pending legislation,” Zubiri added.
He expressed belief that there was no coup but only a move to sow intrigue among members of the majority.
“We need about 12 votes for censure. For that’s the majority of the members of the Committee of the Whole. When it comes to suspension and removal from office, it’s very clear it’s two thirds vote, which is 16 members. For censure and reprimand, we don’t need 16 votes,” Zubiri explained.
Villar has repeatedly denied having benefited from the insertion of P200-million for the road project in the 2008 budget. It turned out that there was already P200 million appropriated for the same project under the President’s budget.
But Villar and his lawyers said the appropriations were not “doubled” but were intended for different stretches of the C-5 Road extension.
Miriam defends Villar
Meanwhile, Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago defended Villar from accusations that he was trying to stop the chamber from deliberating on the committee report.
Santiago, an administration senator who is running for reelection as guest candidate of the NP, reminded her colleagues that they had already cleared Villar in an earlier resolution.
“Our problem now is the 12 senators who agreed to the resolution because two of the 12 senators changed their minds and supported the committee report,” she said, referring to Senators Francis Pangilinan and Jinggoy Estrada.
Battle lines will be drawn in the plenary on Monday as senators cast their votes on the committee report.
She also confirmed that there was a coup attempt against Enrile. “It’s true that there was a coup plot. As self-defense, Senator Villar may lead a coup against Enrile not to install himself but anybody but Enrile because he is a candidate for reelection under the team of President Estrada,” she said.
“This is why this is so politicized,” Santiago said.
“This is really a power struggle. Senator Villar does not want this to be discussed in plenary because he does not believe in the composition of the committee. Nobody is objective in their decision already because we are running for the elections,” she said.
Squid tactics
Meanwhile, the Pwersa ng Masang Pilipino said Villar should stop his “squid tactics” and instead just answer the charges against him.
“The Filipino people deserve an answer. Senator Villar is gravely mistaken in his accusations, and he should instead face the issues squarely instead of finding fault with others where there is none,” PMP spokesman Ralph Calinisan said over dzMM’s “Dos por Dos” radio program. With Jose Rodel Clapano
'Where is Ping?' (The Philippine Star) Updated January 22, 2010 12:00 AM
MANILA, Philippines - Where in the world is Ping?
With so much action at the Senate, Sen. Panfilo Lacson has been a “no show” for three session days this week.
Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile said Lacson wrote him a letter saying that he could not attend the sessions.
His absence had been particularly glaring because he was the one who exposed the C-5 road controversy involving Sen. Manuel Villar Jr., which Enrile wanted to take up on the floor.
When the alleged coup against Enrile and the lack of quorum forced senators to adjourn session, leaving the C-5 report hanging, senators asked about Lacson’s whereabouts, but his office said he is still on vacation. – Aurea Calica
Chief News Editor: Sol Jose Vanzi
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