Arroyo says EVAT helped the country amid the global crisis

MANILA, Philippines - President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo on Tuesday credited the expanded Value Added Tax (EVAT) program for saving the Philippines from the effects of the ongoing global crisis. She revealed this during a forum at the Clinton Global Initiative meeting held in Hong Kong where she was able to meet her former Georgetown University classmate, ex-US President William "Bill" Clinton. Mrs Arroyo said that the EVAT was one of her “hard choices" in 2005 but she faced with the need to raise government revenues. The Philippine EVAT was able to raise between P80 billion to P100 billion in revenues annually and Arroyo said that the revenue "saved" the country. “We were able to have subsidized rice for the poorest of the poor distributed by churches, NGOs, and local governments," Mrs Arroyo said. She also Arroyo said that the EVAT was able to help transport groups “so that they don’t increase the price of transportation too much." “We couldn’t do any of these if we did not have the revenues that came with our painful reforms of the past several years," she added. During the forum, Clinton had asked Arroyo how the Philippines was able to shield itself from the financial tsunami and how other Asian countries can learn from this experience. Clinton also asked her how Philippine civil society and private business helped government achieve its goals. To this question, Arroyo praised the Filipino business groups who were represented during the meeting. “(They’re) a tremendous help in addressing the needs of the poor,"she said. "But at the same time, we also expect the business sector not just to be a partner of government in philanthropic activities but also in corporate citizenship, producing goods that are needed for the poor, producing with environmental technology; in other words addressing the triple bottom line not only financial viability but also social responsibility and environmental sustainability," she added. Overall, she told the forum that the Philippines was "doing relatively well" amid the global crisis. However, she said that it was a "small comfort" to the average Filipinos who feel the effects of higher prices on food and gasoline. “The big challenge that we have to address is how the impact (of the global financial crisis) is on the poor and other ordinary Filipinos. It’s very important for us to be able to make sure that the global crisis does not become a crisis in our country," said Arroyo. - GMANews.TV