Malacañang: 10M poor Pinoy households to get P200/month under TRAIN

Ten million poorest households will get a P200 monthly dole out next year under the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) bill, Malacañang said Tuesday.

"Now, of course, to cushion the impact of indirect taxes, there is cash transfer provided in the law itself. Ten million households will receive cash transfer of P200 per month in 2018 and P300 per month in 2019 and 2020," presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said in a briefing.

"So we have provided for mitigation ‘no, realizing that the poorest of the poor would need some kind of assistance as a result of TRAIN," he added.

Roque said that the P200 per month dole out should be enough to cover the increases.

"Many of the new excise taxes would not really amount too much because really, the amount of taxes that you pay is dependent on your consumption as well and if you are marginalized, the consumption is very low," he said.

Workers’ group Associated Labor Unions-Trade Union Congress of the Philippines in a statement said that around 15.6 million most vulnerable underground economy workers would suffer more once the TRAIN would be approved and implemented in 2018.

"The TRAIN has no policy or program for them. We urge government to improve its social safety net protection to underground economy workers to save them further from falling deep into extreme poverty. This is the only way we can protect them," ALU-TUCP spokesperson Alan Tanjusay said. —ALG, GMA News