Binay camp vows SSS pension hike if elected

MANILA, Philippines - A Binay administration will ensure the passage of legislation raising the monthly pension for retired members of the Social Security System (SSS).

Such a position, voiced by one of Vice President Jejomar Binay’s top allies in Congress, clashes with that of the Aquino administration, which vetoed a House measure that sought to raise by P2,000 the monthly pension for retirees.

“With Binay, yes. I think he is very categorical with his statement about it,” Navotas Rep. Toby Tiangco said on Thursday, when asked if the Vice President was open to raising SSS pension for retired members. Tiangco is the president of the opposition United Nationalist Alliance (UNA), which has Binay as its standard-bearer for the May elections.

He was one of the House members who signed the resolution seeking to override Aquino’s veto of the House bill on SSS pension hike.

Tiangco admitted it might now be difficult to overturn the President’s veto as Congress does not have enough time since it is preparing to convene into a board of canvassers for the May polls.

UNA senatorial candidate and Sarangani Rep. Manny Pacquiao also signed the override resolution, principally sponsored by Bayan Muna Party-List Rep. and senatorial candidate Neri Colmenares.

Colmenares is running under the slate of Binay’s closest rival, Sen. Grace Poe.

The Binay camp’s categorical declaration of support for the SSS hike is the latest policy put forward by the opposition slate.

During the campaign kick-off on Tuesday, Binay unveiled a proposal to exempt workers earning P30,000 and below from paying income taxes.

The proposal was met with disbelief by the ruling Liberal Party, saying such a proposal was not doable as the lower tax collection would affect projects of the government.

Reacting to statement of the administration, UNA spokesman Mon Ilagan said the proposal of the Vice President has gone through a rigorous review by the latter’s economic advisers.

In a statement, former Finance secretary Margarito Teves – one of Binay’s economic advisers – said there are various options to offset revenue losses incurred by lowering income taxes.

“Raising VAT (Value Added Tax) is not the only way to compensate the revenue loss. We already have a menu of options to compensate for the potential revenue losses from reducing tax rates,” said Teves.

UNA said these options include the sale of government assets and the privatization of a number of government-owned and -controlled corporations, fiscal incentives rationalization, fuel marking to fight oil smuggling and continued improvement in tax administration and collection efficiency.

Binay earlier belittled warnings that his plan would entail massive revenue losses, citing billions that the government has already lost due to smuggling and unsuccessful tax collection.

The government is estimated to be losing P230 billion per year due to the smuggling of agricultural products, P30 billion from oil smuggling, and P12 billion from tobacco smuggling, according to UNA.

The party said the government can generate more than the projected P30 billion loss from reduced income taxes if and when smuggling is eliminated or significantly minimized.

“The BIR (Bureau of Internal Revenue) and BOC (Bureau of Customs) actual collections are always below target, not to mention the number of court cases lost by the BIR for failing to follow the tax code. Also, several studies have shown that the likelihood of tax evasion increases with higher tax rates,” Teves said.