Group to econ managers: Confess sins in meeting with CBCP

MANILA, Philippines - A group representing fishermen Wednesday urged the administration's economic managers to "confess" their sins and high crimes of corruption during their scheduled meeting with Catholic bishops. The proposal was aired by fisherfolk alliance Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas (Pamalakaya) said that the administration's managers must confess their sins which emanate from total wastage of taxes collected from the 12-percent expanded value added tax (e-VAT). “The scheduled meeting between the archbishops and bishops of the Catholic Bishops of the Conference of the Philippines is a moral opportunity for the government economic managers to confess the unpardonable tax sins of the Macapagal-Arroyo government. This is an opportunity for a grand coming out," Pamalakaya national chairperson Fernando Hicap said in a statement. The Pamalakaya leader issued the statement in reaction to scheduled meeting between President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, her economic manager and the leaders of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP). The CBCP president, Jaro Archbishop Angel Lagdameo, had earlier aired the group's call for the government to review the e-VAT and oil deregulation law. “The bishops must exercise prudence and high level of alertness in dealing with the President’s economic managers. They are there to serve as town criers and apologists of anti-people and regressive government tax policies," Hicap added. Malacañang and its economic managers had earlier indicated the government was not about to give up the e-VAT on oil. The national government expects to collect P 87 billion this year from VAT and additional P18 billion as a result of the soaring oil prices. “P87 billion plus P18 billion equals P105 billion.That’s the mother of all fortune. Given the seven- year old track record of the Macapagal-Arroyo administration on bureaucratic corruption, it is no longer debatable why this government is extremely opposed to the proposal to eliminate VAT on oil," Pamalakaya said. Finance Secretary Margarito Teves earlier said he would like to sit with the bishops to discuss ways to counter the effects of rising commodity prices and to explain why the lifting of the VAT was not a prudent thing to do so. Pamalakaya dismissed Teves’ warning that the suspension or removal of the controversial tax measure would affect the pro-poor programs of President Arroyo as stupid and totally insulting to the collective intelligence of the people. “What’s his basis in saying the removal of e-VAT is anti-poor? The poor are groaning in pain because of weekly increases in the prices of petroleum products and other basic goods and services which are further compounded by that regressive and exploitative tax measure known as eVAT," Pamalakaya said. Secretary Teves also said the suspension of EVAT would mean a P 73.1 billion in foregone revenues, which the government has programmed to finance poverty alleviation projects. The finance secretary said aside from counter productive, the removal of 12% e-VAT will only benefit the rich because they are biggest consumers of oil. Pamalakaya said last year the administration collected P45 billion in e-VAT collections from petroleum products, and another P 11 billion from power. Pamalakaya said oil companies led by Shell, Chevron and Petron gamely acted as e-VAT collecting agencies for the Arroyo administration, in exchange for their profiteering rackets to realize day-to-day super profits from oil consumers nationwide. Citing data provided by IBON Data Bank, the militant group said diesel prices increased by 607 percent since the start of deregulation in 1996, while pump prices of unleaded gas increased by 492 percent. Pamalakaya said as much as 47 percent to 54 percent of the pump price of petroleum products represents windfall profits of the oil firms. - GMANews.TV