Huge debts, regressive taxes are Arroyo's 'worst, lasting' legacies

MANILA, Philippines - The Arroyo administration’s “worst and lasting legacies" – which include huge debts and regressive taxes – forced the next generation of Filipinos to incur more indebtedness and less social services, a non-government organization said. But instead of wishing that the President should fade into oblivion, Filipinos “must see this as the beginning of [their] long desire to exact justice and reckoning from Mrs. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and her cohorts," Freedom from Debt Coalition (FDC) vice president Ben Moraleda said. This has prompted the NGO to call once more for a suspension of debt payments, an advocacy it has undertaken ever since FDC has been established in the mid-eighties. The country’s needs should come first, FDC secretary-general Milo N. Tanchuling said, adding that a debt moratorium would be timely given the financial crisis. He made this plea, reiterating the call of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (Unctad) for an immediate debt moratorium of all highly indebted countries. “In times of crisis, we should put the country’s needs first before the situation worsens," he said. “Developed countries can allot $1 trillion to save their economy. Where can we get the funding if we will put debt servicing first? Our domestic economy is weak. There is no support for agriculture," he added. For her part, party list Akbayan Representative Risa Hontiveros emphasized the need for a debt audit because of the government’s inability to create credible oversight for its own actions. “The debt audit will be an important medium in preventing unnecessary spending by the government and helps it perform its proper functions to endure the economic crisis," she added. Latest data from the Bureau of the Treasury showed the government debt increased by 10 percent year-on-year to P4.26 trillion in April from P3.87 trillion. The country's economic managers defended higher spending and incurring more debt to pump prime the economy and curb effects of the global recession. The move is also expected to protect vulnerable sectors through increased social spending. The government did not anticipate this kind of crisis, Finance Secretary Margarito B. Teves told GMANews.TV. He added that the government “could have probably achieved a balanced budget by 2010 had the situation been normal." “We almost did it in 2007 but there were factors beyond our control," he added. In 2007, the national government narrowed down the fiscal gap by 80.8 percent to P12.44 billion from P64.79 billion the previous year. The government promised to end the deficit in 2008 but skyrocketing prices and food crisis emerged last year along with the global recession. The government “still needs additional revenues to sustain our economic growth," Teves said. - GMANews.TV