TUCP: 700,000 workers in PHL may lose jobs due to CITIRA

The livelihood of around 700,000 workers in the country will be imperiled by the proposed Corporate Income Tax and Incentives Rationalization Act (CITIRA) as it threatens to push investors to shut down and transfer to other countries, according to the labor group Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) on Monday.

“Our economic managers are hell-bent in pushing thousands of workers and their families towards the fire by pushing the approval of the CITIRA without any credible job protection measures and believable safety nets for workers affected by the enforcement of this second tax reform package measure,” TUCP vice president Louie Corral said in a statement.

CITIRA, the second package of the Duterte administration's comprehensive tax reform program, seeks to reduce the corporate income tax (CIT) rates from the current 30% to 20% in 2029, on a staggered basis.

It also aims to foster a more competitive fiscal incentives system by making tax perks time-bound, transparent, targeted, and performance-based.

The DOF previously claimed that this measure would create 1.4 million jobs when passed into law.

Corral, however, slammed the DOF officials for allegedly spreading "half-truths" for the passage and approval of the CITIRA.

"They’re saying workers will be protected and new jobs will be created with CITIRA but if you take a closer look at the measure, these provisions are insubstantial and vague when it comes to protecting jobs and providing safety nets for workers,” said Corral, while noting that the proposed measure only provides P500 million annual budget for displaced workers.

He added that providing allowances to displaced workers for a period of three to six months, a proposal backed by Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez, is not a "sure-fire formula."

“The idea is devoid of sincerity and logic. We all know that with the kind of government bureaucracy that we have, workers would be unable to get anything. Tinanggalan na nga siya ng trabaho ng gobyerno pagkatapos siya pa ang magpapatunay na tinanggal siya sa trabaho para makakuha ng limos?" Corral said.

He underscored that ecozone workers who will likely be affected must be consulted regarding the matter.

On the other hand, the DOF previously claimed that the foreign investors were unfazed by the CITIRA.

"Despite the persistent fear-mongering activities of certain groups, the international investment community continues to signal its confidence in the policies of the Duterte administration and in the strength of the Philippine economy and its workforce, as illustrated by the surge in FDI [foreign direct investment] pledges in the year’s first semester,” Finance Undersecretary Karl Kendrick Chua had said.

“It goes to show that the noisy naysayers against the long-due efforts to reform the country’s convoluted corporate income tax system are mistaken,” he added.

Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) Director General Charito Plaza also expressed support to the measure.

Last month, the House of Representatives approved the CITIRA bill on its third and final reading. The Senate version is still undergoing deliberations. —LDF, GMA News