House may extend session to pass 'sin tax bill'

The House of Representatives may extend its session until Friday to pass key legislations, including the bill, which seeks to impose higher taxes on tobacco and alcohol products.

 

House Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. said he would direct his colleagues to attend session for two more days if House Bill 5727, or the “sin tax” bill, will not be passed before the scheduled adjournment on Wednesday.

 

“The law permits us to adjourn one day or two days before or after schedule. We will avail of that option if we are unable to finish everything by Wednesday,” Belmonte told reporters on Monday.

 

The House will just ask for the Senate’s concurrence if it decides to extend its session days, he added.

 

Key measures need to be passed, but the “sin tax” bill is “the most important one,” said Belmonte.

 

“The sin tax bill is still in the stage of interpellation and debates. We had very long interpellations for the past session days. 

 

“There are others who want to interpellate. We want everybody to get the chance to interpellate,” he said.

 

Also on the verge of being passed are House Bill 6052 which seeks to lower the minimum age of criminal responsibility from 15 to 12 years old, and House Bill 6144 which seeks to legislate basic rights and benefits for the “kasambahay” or domestic worker.

 

New tax structure for alcohol and cigarettes  

HB 5727 seeks to increase the price of cigarettes costing P11.50 to P23.50 during the first year of its implementation. Tobacco products costing P11.50 and above, meanwhile, will be sold for P31.80.

 

The following taxes will be imposed on alcohol products during the first year of the legislation’s implementation:

Last month, President Benigno Aquino III certified the “sin tax” bill as urgent, allowing the House to fast track its approval even if plenary debates on the measure started only last week. 

 

A year after the sin tax bill is in place, the government expects to generate P33 billion in revenues.

 

Last March, Cavite Rep. Joseph Emilio Abaya, the bill’s primary author, noted that the measure would not hurt Philippine tobacco farmers, since 15 percent of the excise tax the government will collect will be “plowed back” to the farmers. —VS, GMA News