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DEBATE 2019

Tañada wants new excise taxes suspended; Ong says 'no' as infra projects need money


Opposition senatorial candidate and former Deputy Speaker Lorenzo Tañada III is calling for the suspension of the Tax Reform law provision imposing additional taxes on fuel, but medical doctor Willie Ong maintained that more revenues are needed to fund the Duterte administration’s Build, Build, Build program.

“Dapat suspendehin ang implementasyon ng excise taxes on fuel dahil ito ang rason bakit tumataas ang presyo ng bilihin at tumaas ang inflation rate noong nakaraang taon. Klaro na hindi ito tumutugon sa pangangailangan ng mahihirap,” Tañada said during "Debate 2019: The GMA senatorial face-off."

Tañada was referring to the inflation rate or the increase in the prices of goods and services, which hit a nine-year high at 6.7 percent in November, contrary to government expectations.

The December 2018 inflation went down to 5.1 percent and eventually to 4.4 percent this month.

“Kaya natin gumawa ng imprastraktura ng walang dagdag na buwis katulad noong nakaraang administrasyon, sa pamamagitan ng Public Private Partnership (PPP) program,” Tañada added.

PPP is a strategy wherein private firms will finance a part of the state's infrastructure expenditure for social services such as hospitals and roads.

But for neophyte politician Ong, adhering to Tañada’s suggestion will derail the Duterte administration’s ambitious Build, Build, Build program that seeks to put in place trillions-peso worth of roads, bridges, railways, among others within President Rodrigo Duterte’s six-year term which will end on June 30, 2022.

“Kailangan nating ituloy ito dahil sa Build, Build, Build at dahil ang batas na ito, nabawasan [rin] ang buwis na binabayaran ng mga empleyado,” Ong said, referring to the TRAIN Law provision that removed income taxes for those earning 250,000 a year or lower. —LBG/KBK, GMA News

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