Pia Cayetano says she's 'envious' of support Poe is getting for airport franchise bill

Senate Ways and Means Committee chairperson Pia Cayetano turned a bit emotional on Monday as she claimed that her colleagues are not showing the same support for the corporate income tax reform bill compared to the franchise bill for the construction of the Bulacan airport.

Five hours into the session where senators juggled between discussing the franchise bill and the Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises (CREATE) bill, Cayetano aired her sentiments as she tried to ask interpellators to continue their questions.

"I feel that I'm not getting enough support that my good friend—and I have so much respect for her—Senator Grace is getting. In other words, I am envious that Senator Grace has all the support (for) this bill tonight kahit anong oras pero kapag ako ang nagre-request na ituloy natin, 'O sige bukas na lang, postpone na lang,'" Cayetano told her colleagues in the upper chamber.

Senate Majority Leader Juan Miguel Zubiri said the CREATE bill is more complex than the other bill on hand.

"The gentle lady should not be envious because the proposal that was on the floor which is the aerocity airport again is a no-brainer. If you take it to the public and you ask them, ito po ay isang proyekto na ibibigay ng pribadong kompanya para sa ating bansa na nagbibigay unang-una sa lahat ng 400,000 jobs in the construction period," he said.

"We are supporting CREATE. CREATE is on the table everyday. Unfortunately, we have colleagues, Mr. President, that feel the removal of incentives is not an easy thing to do, when you remove incentives that affect five to six million workers and industry players. If it was just purely bringing down the income tax from 30% to 25% I can pass it right now," he added.

Poe, during the heat of the moment, clarified that she is not against CREATE bill being taken up again but that she only wanted to pass the franchise bill on second reading within the day.

But Cayetano pointed out that she is not yet fully ready to interpellate and introduce amendments to the bill.

"I have had no time to study this bill. And I said after I do CREATE, that is the time that I will look at it and construct my questions. Yes, I have read the bill. Yes, I have made notes and I can contribute but I will need to be given a few minutes," she told her colleagues.

"And that’s why masama ho ang loob ko, pasensya na. But kaya masama ang loob ko kasi kung ang iba, humingi sa inyo ng time to study, binibigay niyo. Ako na nakasalang sa floor, hindi niyo man lang ako maisip na pagbigyan. Kaya mabigat sa akin kasi parang you want to rush me to do this bill," she added.

Senator Richard Gordon, who was in line to interpellate the CREATE bill said he would give way to the debates on the airport franchise bill.

"I hope the distinguished lady from Taguig whom I respect a lot will not mind if I suggest pagbigyan na natin lahat ng mga kasama natin, tapusin na ang interpellation ngayon para matapos na itong bill na ito," he said.

Cayetano said she cannot force Gordon to proceed with the interpellation on CREATE but also informed her colleagues of the pressure she is experiencing on sponsoring the corporate income tax reform bill which she said is not even her pet bill.

"Sino sa inyo ang gustong i-handle ang interpellation ng tatlong heavyweights na magagaling talaga ang sabay-sabay? May hangganan din naman ang utak ko 'no and that's the only reason why I'm trying to manage it," she said. "I'm not a superwoman, I'm just trying to do my job well."

Why the rush?

Cayetano further questioned why other senators are rushing the passage of the franchise bill.

"I don't understand why this has to be done today. Why not tomorrow? So I can study because this is secondarily referred to my committee. That means important ang input ko, hindi ba?" she said.

Senate President Vicente Sotto III explained that the bill has to be passed because otherwise, it will not be approved by the bicam before Congress goes on break in mid-October.

"There is a 3-day rule because unlike CREATE it is not certified as urgent. Therefore there won’t be time for a bicam and ratification before the 14th break. SMC (San Miguel Corporation) is already spending billions for the country and further delay is regressive to their investment," Sotto said in a message to reporters.

Zubiri committed to put the CREATE bill as the only agenda in the session on Tuesday.

Cayetano submitted to proceed with the interpellation of the airport franchise bill and asked for a few minutes to review before her turn.

The Senate leaders plan to pass the franchise bill on second reading before they suspend the session on Monday night. -- BAP, GMA News