SC upholds House journal over videos, photos; dismisses petitions vs. TRAIN Law

The Supreme Court has upheld the constitutionality of the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) Act as it dismissed petitions that questioned how it was passed in Congress and its imposition of "regressive" taxes.

Voting 13-1-1, the SC en banc on Tuesday dismissed the consolidated petition of former ACT Teachers party-list Representative Antonio Tinio and the Laban Konsyumer Group.

Tinio and Laban Konsyumer argued that the House of Representatives unconstitutionally passed the TRAIN Act when it did so without a quorum.

They also said that its provisions, which imposed excise taxes on petroleum products, were regressive taxes.

The High Tribunal ruled that the supposed absence of a quorum was belied by the official journal of the House of Representatives.

“As between the live stream video and photographs presented by the petitioners, and the Congressional Journal, the latter must prevail as to the events on the Congressional floor on that fateful day given that no less than the Constitution itself grants the Congressional Journal its imprimatur,” the SC Public Information Office quoted the tribunal as saying.

The SC said that the 1987 Constitution did not prohibit the imposition of regressive taxes and only directed Congress to evolve a progressive system of taxation.

The Supreme Court also shot down the petitioners’ argument that the act was “anti-poor” and ruled that it was not sufficiently proven and was hypothetical.

According to the Court, Justice Alfredo Benjamin Caguioa dissented while Justice Ricardo Rosario was on wellness leave.

Then President Rodrigo Duterte signed the TRAIN measure into law in 2017, under which taxpayers earning less than P250,000 per year will not be taxed. —NB, GMA Integrated News