Senators: No new taxes

MANILA, Philippines — Senate President Vicente Sotto III has asked the Department of Finance (DOF) not to press Congress for new taxes amid the ongoing coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, saying the people cannot bear an additional financial burden.

Sotto said other revenue-raising bills could be proposed that would not burden ordinary Filipinos.

“Please don’t tax the people. Far too many are bearing the brunt (of the crisis),” Sotto told radio station dzRH yesterday. “Additional taxes that will burden the Filipino, or the common tao? Now is not the time to impose that,” he added.

Sen. Panfilo Lacson was also uncomfortable with Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III’s push for the passage of pending tax bills in Congress to fund programs to deal with the COVID-19 crisis.

“As they say, there are two things in this world that we cannot avoid: death and taxes. What I’m saying is COVID or not, the DOF has lined up a tax package which they are determined to accomplish,” Lacson said.

 While he had some misgivings about the tax package, particularly on Package 1 of the Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion, the senator said he might support revenue measures with amendments “as it has done more good than harm to the country’s economy.”

Meanwhile, Lacson is asking Malacañang to explain clearly and convince Congress that it does not have enough funds for programs to address the COVID-19 crisis as there are unspent appropriations in the 2019 national budget.

He recalled that during the deliberations for the Bayanihan to Heal as One Act, economic managers told senators that as of the third quarter last year, there was about P989 billion unspent from the 2019 General Appropriations Act (GAA).

The senator said Budget Secretary Wendel Avisado made a rough estimate of P600 billion still unspent if the fourth quarter was taken into account.

Lacson also pointed out that Congress passed a bill last year authorizing the executive branch to use the 2019 budget until Dec. 31, 2020.

“The President is also right, this (unspent) is not cash. When we pass the GAA, that’s spending authority,” Lacson told radio station dzBB.

“But funds must be available because (the GAA is) a law. That’s why when revenues, when collections of the BIR, BOC, and GOCC and remittances are lacking, we borrow,” he said, referring to the Bureau of Internal Revenue, Bureau of Customs and government-owned and controlled corporations, respectively.

The senator added that the Bayanihan Act authorized President Duterte to realign funds to address the crisis.

Possible supplemental budget

The Duterte administration already has initial estimates for a possible supplemental budget for COVID-19 response, Malacañang said yesterday, as the government seeks funds for its health and aid programs during the extended enhanced community quarantine period.

Presidential spokesman Harry Roque said agencies are expected to tackle budget-related matters after crafting guidelines for the relaxed quarantine measures in low- and moderate-risk areas.

“Sec. Avisado already made a presentation on the day the President announced the extension of the ECQ in some areas, so we already have preliminary figures and we know, more or less, the preliminary figures needed in the immediate future, the medium term and in the 2021 budget,” Roque said in an interview with radio station dzBB.

“We are ready for that but I do not have an authority to make it public. Maybe, one step at a time. This week, we will highlight the new normal in the (general community quarantine or GCQ) because all of us will eventually get there,” he added.

Avisado, however, said a supplemental budget is not yet being discussed, and that the option would be considered if there are available funds.

“We are not yet talking about a proposal for a supplemental budget,” Avisado told The STAR in a text message in FIlipino.

“It would be an option if there are available funds certified by the Department of Finance. For now, not yet,” the budget chief added.

2021 budget priority

The 2021 budget to be submitted to Congress in July would prioritize efforts to combat COVID-19, according to Roque.

“(The 2021 budget) will really look different. Of course, the budget would focus on COVID-19 while we do not have a vaccine yet. There are projects that have to be sacrificed to provide the needs of our countrymen,” he said.

The Palace spokesman noted that the government has enough funds for its COVID-19-related interventions for the next two months, like the social amelioration program.

“Perhaps, what the government will seek is the budget after the ECQ and GCQ. The budget that has been given to us is good for more or less two months,” he said.

Roque added that the Palace does not see any problem with funding requirements because Congress has expressed readiness to help the administration with its pandemic response.

‘No normalcy sans vaccine’

The Palace spokesman reiterated that the public cannot return to the pre-COVID-19 normal until a vaccine is developed.

He said the government’s task force on COVID-19 is expected to discuss this week the guidelines for areas to be placed under modified quarantine.

“While these measures will be implemented in GCQ areas, people in places like Metro Manila who are under ECQ should listen because once the ECQ is lifted, the GCQ measures will be equally applicable,” he added.

‘Retain infrastructure funding’

Duterte’s allies at the House of Representatives yesterday called on the budget department to retain funding for the government’s massive infrastructure projects since the stalled economy needs to fully recover after the pandemic.

“For instance, an ongoing multi-year bridge construction, you should not touch the funds for it. Implementation has to continue,” Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano said, noting that “there are roads and bridges whose implementation this year could not be postponed.”

Cayetano added that workers in projects like the example he cited expect to go back to their jobs once the extended enhanced community quarantine is lifted or relaxed, probably after May 15 as set by the national government.

“Remember, there is life after Covid-19 or after ECQ. It means that there should be development in every part of the country,” he said.

Cayetano also cited allocations for travel as funds that could be used to fight COVID-19.

“For example travel, what do we do with the budget for travel of the government since we are not traveling outside the country?” the Speaker said, urging the Department of Budget and Management to reconsider cutting allocations for certain infrastructure projects.

Deputy Speaker LRay Villafuerte, Reps. Stella Alabastro-Quimbo and Precious Hipolito-Castelo also supported Cayetano’s call, saying these projects are necessary to create jobs and help the economy withstand the impact of the global health crisis.