Centrist Democracy Political Institute - Items filtered by date: June 2025
Monday, 11 December 2017 13:58
Military won’t give in to holiday truce pleas
MANILA — The military is not inclined to give in to a Christmas truce with the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army-National Democratic Front (CPP-NPA-NDF) despite calls by some groups, including the Church.
This, according to Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) public affairs office chief, Col. Edgard Arevalo late Sunday.
“The AFP supports the wisdom and wise discretion of the CinC (Commander-in-Chief, President Rodrigo Duterte). He has already declared that there will be no unilateral ceasefire this December. The SND (Secretary of National Defense Delfin Lorenzana) has made a similar announcement of his position on the matter,” he added.
In the wake of continued NPA attacks, Arevalo said they see no difference this Christmas season.
The DND chief earlier said he cannot recommend a “suspension of military operation” against as the CPP-NPA-NDF vowed to intensify attacks against military targets in wake of Proclamation 360 that terminated peace talks and negotiations with the latter.
President Duterte signed the proclamation last November 23.
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Thursday, 07 December 2017 10:55
Aguirre wants CPP-NPA legally tagged as terror group
MANILA — The Department of Justice (DOJ) has ordered the Office of the Prosecutor General (OPG) to file a formal petition before the regional trial court (RTC) to legally declare the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army (CPP-NPA) a terrorist group.
“The Office of Prosecutor General is directed to file necessary application or petition organization with appropriate court for the proscription or declaration of the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army as a terrorist organization pursuant to Republic Act (RA) NO. 9372, otherwise known as “Human Security Act of 2007”,” Aguirre said in his Department Order no. 779 dated December 6, 2017.
Under Section 17 of Republic Act No. 9372, or the Human Security Act of 2007, the DOJ must first seek clearance from the court before an organization, association or group of persons could be declared a terrorist and outlawed group.
The OPG will also request assistance from the concerned agencies and to submit regular reports of the actions taken in the implementation of the order.
Aguirre expressed confidence that the lower court would grant the government’s request following President Rodrigo Duterte’s proclamation naming the CPP and NPA as terror organizations on Tuesday.
On Tuesday, Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque announced that the President has signed a proclamation formally tagging the CPP-NPA as a terrorist organization.
The Palace spokesperson said the President signed the proclamation pursuant to the provisions of Republic Act No. 10168 or the Human Security Act.
Roque said that under the law, affiliate revolutionary groups of the CPP-NPA would now also be considered terrorist groups, and anyone proven to be financing them would be held liable.
Citing the pertinent provisions of RA 10168, Roque said that a designated person is “any person or entity designated or identified as a terrorist, as one who finances terrorism or a terrorist organization or group under the applicable United Nations Security Council resolution or by another jurisdiction or supranational jurisdiction and pursuant to the proclamation which implements the Human Security Act.”
In his proclamation, Duterte directed the Department of Foreign Affairs “to publish the foregoing designation of CPP-NPA and other designated persons, organizations, in accordance with Sections 3 and 15 of RA 10168 and its implementing rules and regulations.”
The proclamation was issued two weeks after the Philippine government terminated peace talks with the CPP-NPA after a series of violent attacks that the President said is against humanitarian law.
Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea had already issued a memorandum to Aguirre to immediately file the necessary application for the declaration of the CPP-NPA as a terrorist organization with the appropriate RTC.
He said this is because a proper petition must be filed by the DOJ in court to classify the CPP-NPA as a terrorist group under the Human Security Act for the group to be considered as such under domestic laws and under relevant UN Security Council resolutions.
Meanwhile, the DOJ has petitioned Manila RTC Branch 32 to void the temporary liberty granted to alleged CPP leaders Benito Tiamzon, his wife Wilma and Edilberto Silva.
Duterte earlier said he considered the CPP-NPA as criminals after the death of a four-month old baby and two other civilians in an ambush that targeted a police convoy in Bukidnon province last month.
The CPP-NPA has been in the US list of foreign terrorist organizations since 2002. (Christopher Lloyd Caliwan/PNA)
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Thursday, 07 December 2017 09:44
Aftermath of Nov. 30 non-revgov
“We need a radical change in government. We did not go into a revolutionary government. I don’t want it. Only when everything is turning upside down. Maybe. Hindi nakikinig ang mga gago eh! Bakit ako maghanap ng sakit ng ulo.”
—President Duterte,
Anti-Corruption Summit
November 28, 2017, PICC
TWO days after the President’s pronouncements, the November 30 nationwide orchestrated red-uniformed mass action agitating for a revolutionary government pushed through, albeit with pathetically small crowds, perhaps due to the non-support and dire warnings of the President.
In the aftermath of these demonstrations, two portents made themselves clear: first, the zealots, the fist-pumpers and the DDS will not be inhibited by the DU30 statement ostensibly sidelining revgov from the political conversation and will persist at self-hype to continue to raise expectations. And for the deprived masses expectations are a contagion.
Psychology of the rabble
Second, the mob fired up by social media has acquired a mind of its own and will continue to push beyond the limits of discretion. And when it reaches critical mass, if ever, even the President may not be able to hold them back. The mobs of the French revolution of 1789 and the Bolshevik’s in 1917, come to mind. Although the social and political fabric during those times were different from what we have now, still, the character and psychology of the rabble is essentially the same.
The buzz on the street among the fist-pumpers and the DDS is that the November 30 demonstrations were just a foretaste of what’s to come, in obvious defiance of DU30.This dangerous and unthinking horde has thrown an arrogant challenge to the presidency: “…the people have spoken, now the ball is in your court”!
In our defective democracy, it is a given that a minority however loud and insufferable, deluding itself to be speaking for ‘the people,’ has the right to be heard; but this frustration-fueled moves, bordering on despair, may prove to be a siren’s song to ruin, instead of a real restructuring of Philippine society, initially through constitutional revisions. The true-believers by their engagements have unwittingly posed a dilemma to the Deegong: ignore the challenge of declaring a revgov and risk their wrath; or accept it and throw the country to the unknown.
It doesn’t take rocket science to predict that the Deegong will not kowtow to the demands of those that he has now labeled “mga gago eh!” These people assumed too much by their dare, “…now the ball is in your court!” The Deegong is simply not playing their game.
Ambiguous language
But PRRD could be partly to blame as he injected into this cauldron a certain ambiguity to his language that the unthinking mob misinterprets as a veiled invitation analogous to a moth attracted to the flame.
Thus, the body language of the PRRD are now interpreted by both the pros and cons to favor a revgov declaration; the former, out of euphoria, the latter out of fear. With this emerging scenario, some critical questions need to be answered. What legal or legitimate mechanism is being exploited to camouflage a revgov decision, one that will allow a sitting president of a state he has been gifted to head, to declare that same state, illegitimate? An interpretation of Hobbes overarching social contract demands an authorizing legal mechanism lest the triumph of DU30’s revgov simply anoints PRRD as a dictator, with the concomitant spilling of blood.
If revgov is declared, will the Armed Forces rally to him or stick to its sworn allegiance to a Constitution, however defective that document may be? Will the MNLF/MILF/CPP-NPA just stand by? The “voxpopuli, voxdei” argument won’t wash. But more importantly, will the silent majority of Filipinos, even those level-headed supporters of PRRD, back up the initiative?
The “sea of reds” before their next rallies needs to paint workable scenarios to the public, before the majority buys in.
Revolutionary government is the raison d’être to fast-track the legitimate desire of a large portion of the Filipino population to free themselves from the shackles of poverty, injustice and a host of problems now identified as a product of an anomalous and perverted oligarchic-driven unitary system of governance. A prescription to these ailments is the revision of the 1987 Constitution and a shift to a parliamentary-federal form of government, one that candidate Duterte championed, which catapulted him to power. A large majority now is calling in that promise. But the Senate and House, the traditional bastion of oligarchic interests, are proving to be a formidable hindrance to the people’s interest. Thus, revgov is seen as the tool to break that impasse.
But this is a solution that calls for the anointing of a leader with powers that has spelled disaster to our people. And the argument that revgov is meant to be temporary until the Constitution is revised and the transition to federal-parliamentary system is in place, is at best polemical. Be mindful of Lord Acton’s counsel on the corrupting influence of power.
Storm the citadel
The mob needs to redirect its attention towards the principal obstacle and stumbling block to constitutional revisions – Congress, especially the obstinate Senate. As expressed in my previous columns: “There has to be a constitutional and legal way to break the impasse and crack the hold of an impudent (Senate) minority on the body politic. In a democratic system, negotiations are the norm to arrive at an agreement and a win-win solution between parties with divergent and oftentimes contradictory interests. Surely, we need no revgov to have these august members of the Senate see the Deegong’s way through.”
The efforts by the zealots to involve the president and the whole country in a questionable and illegal endeavor are best redirected towards the storming of this citadel of oligarchic interests. With their numbers and allies within, “persuasion, pressure and intimidation” are tools best suited to this type of engagement, not rallies and street marches – and thus leave DU30 free to govern the country as he sees fit.
As in a festering cancer, what is required is only a surgical operation to alienate and remove the tumor to save the body politic. As the tired saying goes: Think, people, think, outside of the box!
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Monday, 04 December 2017 09:59
PH urged to boost agricultural productivity for inclusive growth
MANILA — The country needs to undertake policies to accelerate productivity growth in the long run across all sectors especially in agriculture, which remains a key sector for inclusive growth and poverty alleviation, according to the Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS).
PIDS senior research fellow Roehlano Briones identified elements for boosting total factor productivity (TFP) growth, which are research and development (R&D), innovation, adoption of technology, improved practices and systems, and public goods such as transport infrastructure.
“…It suffices to say that TFP is generally not increased by price support policies for agriculture, nor by subsidies on private goods, contrary to the current thrust of agricultural policy,” he said in a discussion paper titled “Outlook for the Philippine Economy and Agro-Industry to 2030: The Role of Productivity Growth”.
Briones also cited analysis emphasizing industry-service TFP over that of agriculture “if the goal is sustaining rapid, economywide growth.”
“Maintaining productivity growth for industry-services, trend rates suffices to reach PDP (Philippine Development Plan) growth targets, despite weak TFP growth for agriculture,” he added.
PDP aims to transform the Philippines into an upper middle income economy by 2022, with an income of USD5,000. This represents a 41 percent jump over its 2015 level of USD3,550.
Overall poverty is seen to decline from 21.6 percent in 2015, to only 14 percent in 2022.
Briones further noted that productivity growth of agriculture impacts strongly on agriculture itself, but not on the industry-services sectors.
“Conversely, productivity growth in the latter strongly impacts on itself and GDP (gross domestic product), but not on agriculture,” he said. (PNA)
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Friday, 01 December 2017 08:42
De Castro testimony solid enough to impeach Sereno: Gadon
MANILA — The testimony of Supreme Court (SC) Associate Justice Teresita Leonardo-de Castro at the House of Representatives Justice Committee hearing is sufficient to prove the allegations against Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno, impeachment complainant lawyer Larry Gadon said.
De Castro testified against Sereno after she and other personnel were allowed by the SC to appear before the House hearing on the impeachment proceedings against the Chief Justice.
Gadon said de Castro’s statements backed by documentary proofs were “uncontrovertible evidence”.
“The testimony of Justice Teresita de Castro is more than enough and sufficient to impeach Sereno. Her testimony, aside from being supported with documentary evidence, is tremendously strong since the issues under question are matters precisely within her knowledge as she herself was a direct participant in those matters of administrative orders and TRO (temporary restraining order) resolutions — a firsthand knowledge by direct participation,” he said.
Gadon claimed that the testimony of de Castro showed Sereno’s alleged culpable violation of the Constitution.
The lawyer admitted that he felt vindicated by the statements of the senior magistrate that validated most of his allegations in the impeachment complaint.
De Castro specifically cited Sereno’s AO issued on Nov. 27, 2012 creating the Judiciary Decentralized Office (JDO) and reopening the Regional Court Administrative Office (RCAO) in Region 7 in Cebu.
De Castro also testified on the TRO in the case involving the disqualification case of the Senior Citizens party-list group in the May 2016 elections.
She also testified on the merits of the decision she penned that declared unconstitutional the clustering of shortlisted nominees made by the Judicial and Bar Council (JBC) last year in connection with the vacancies in the Sandiganbayan.
De Castro has also been authorized by the Court to discuss the merits of her separate concurring opinion in the August 2014 ruling that voided the JBC’s decision not to include the name of then Solicitor General Francis Jardeleza on the shortlist of nominees for SC justice post after Sereno raised an integrity issue against him.
Gadon said with the charges against Sereno now based on solid evidence he reiterated his call for the chief magistrate to resign from her post to avoid further humiliation.
He said that if Sereno does not resign, he would file graft and corruption charges in connection with the hiring of IT consultants, found to be illegal.
“If she does not resign by Monday (Dec. 4), I am going to file graft and corruption cases against her and some of her minions in SC over the issue of the hiring of IT consultants which was found to be illegal,” he explained.
Gadon said he plans to file the cases next week if Sereno refuses to step down from her post.
He cited a fact-finding report submitted to the SC, which recommended that the contract amounting to about PHP10 million for the services of IT consultant Helen Perez – Macasaet be voided for “lapses in the procurement process”.
Weak complaint
Meanwhile, Integrated Bar of the Philippines National President Abdeil Dan Elijah Fajardo said that he found the impeachment complaint filed by Gadon against Sereno weak and lacking in substance.
Fajardo likened Gadon to a “summary writer” whom he said was really lacking personal knowledge as to the workings or the antecedents leading to decisions taken by the SC or its internal workings.
“At first, we wanted to give the benefit of the doubt to Atty. Gadon because he might really have something there.
But as it is turning out now, the complaint appears to be just a summary of what has been publicized either through newspaper reports or through blind items or rumors about the inner workings of the Supreme Court,” Fajardo said in a TV interview.
He cited Gadon’s claim that he received information against Sereno from Manila Times reporter Jomar Canlas, who supposedly got the same from de Castro.
Both de Castro and Canlas have denied such claim.
He said Gadon did not even appear as counsel or party to the cases heard by the high court that he is now talking about in his impeachment complaint against Sereno.
Fajardo reiterated his earlier stand that the impeachment process should be utilized judiciously, adding that using it too often might affect the independence required of the Judiciary.
He said the Chief Justice, whoever is sitting on the post, is just a human being, who because of the threat of impeachment, might not be able to comply with his or her constitutional duty due to the threat hanging over his or her head.
“If the highest member of the judiciary, no less than the chief justice, is threatened with impeachment in each decision and in each administrative matter, there might creep into that fear that he or she might displease the political powers and that therefore cannot comply with the constitutional duty to decide on cases based on the evidence of law,” the IBP chief said.
The 55,000-strong IBP last September said that while impeachment is allowed under the Constitution to exact accountability of impeachable officials, such as the President, Vice President, Chief Justice and the head of constitutional commissions such as the Comelec, it should be used sparingly so as not to dilute its power.
Confident Sereno
For her part, Sereno said those who stand with the truth should not be oppressed as she expressed confidence that God’s plan would prevail as she faces impeachment complaint over allegations on her wealth, living a lavish lifestyle, and falsifying the high court’s resolutions.
“I’m sure, as the sun rises from the east and sets in the west, that God’s plan will prevail. Indeed, I have seen with my own eyes how the Lord superintends everything so that the lies are uncovered, the truth is revealed, people are taking more courage and there is unity among brethren at last. There is an awakening in the Church and among our ordinary citizens,” Sereno said Thursday after the Mass at the Parish of the Holy Sacrifice offered by her supporters at the University of the Philippines in Diliman, Quezon City.
The top magistrate admitted she did not expect that her fight would be the fight of every citizen, saying it inspired her not to give up.
“Sa akin pong mga kababayan na nagmamasid sa nangyayari ngayon, maraming maraming salamat po, pagkat nakita ko po, at kayo na rin po ang nagsabi na paulitulit, ‘Ang laban mo ay laban namin.’ Kaya paano po ako bibitiw, paano po ako manghihina ang loob, paano po ako lilisan at tatalikuran ang aking pananagutan sa bayan? (To my fellow Filipinos who are following recent events, thank you very much. I have seen how all of you are saying repeatedly that my fight is your fight, too. How can I quit then? How can I be faint of heart? How can I afford to leave and abandon my responsibility to the country?)” Sereno said.
“Ako po ay niluklok para pangalagaan ang hustisya, bantayan ang independensya ng hudikatura, pangalagaan ang mga kawaning hudikatura at ilatag ang sunod-sunod na reporma sa hudikatura. Ako ay nahirang na maging pinuno, hindi lamang sa hudikatura mismo ng unit, dahil sa ehemplong hudikatura ay ang mabilis at tamang pag-inog ng hustisya, (I was designated to protect justice, preserve the judiciary’s independence, take care of its employees, and implement a series of reforms. I was chosen to be a leader of a judiciary that must ensure a fast and proper delivery of justice.)” she said. (PNA)
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Thursday, 30 November 2017 09:52
Duterte: Nothing to fear, I’m no dictator
PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte has allayed fears he would become a dictator, saying he was just after a new Constitution that would address corruption.
“These communists, calling me a dictator, an executioner, somebody corrupt…[but I say to you], do not be afraid of dictatorship. I am not aiming for it. I do not ask [for]it and I do not like it,” Duterte said in his speech during the birthday celebration of Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (Pagcor) President Alfredo Lim on Tuesday night.
The President was referring to comments about him by the National Democratic Front (NDF), the political wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) after the breakdown of peace talks.
“In the event that Congress comes up with an anti-corruption Constitution, I will step down at the end of the year. That is a commitment, a guarantee. Make me a Constitution that would do away with a long suffering corruption-ridden country and I would be willing to just step out so you won’t be afraid that I am just after being a dictator,” Duterte said.
The President, however, did not take the communists’ tirades sitting down, tagging the insurgents as terrorists amid the spate of attacks launched by the New People’s Army (NPA) against government troops (see story on A7).
NPA is the armed wing of the CPP.
“If I am a fascist that you [communists]say I am, [then]why [did you]talk to me? If that is the way, how you view me, then do not talk to me. Wait for a leader that would be to your liking your predilections. I am not that kind,” Duterte said.
After four rounds of talks between the government and the NDF, Duterte formally ended peace talks with the communist rebels this month, branding them as “terrorists,” amid the spate of NPA attacks.
Communist leaders, led by CPP founder Jose Ma. Sison, countered by calling Duterte a “bully” and a “dictator.”
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Thursday, 30 November 2017 08:14
The final solution?
THE title does not refer to the Jewish pogroms that started in the Middle Ages in Europe which culminated in the Nazi extermination policies that brought on the Holocaust. It refers to an attempt at a “final solution” to the exasperation of the Filipino people with the slow pace of change promised by DU30’s battlecry “Pagbabago.” By the time this column comes out today, November 30, the Philippines could be in the cusp of another upheaval, a revolutionary government (“revgov”), that the DDS and the fist-pumpers have been working for weeks to entice PRRD to declare. I don’t think this will happen today. The Deegong is much wiser and more politically astute than his partisans who assume that the 16 million people who voted for him and the core of the 80 percent that has sustained PRRD’s popularity – that all have one prescription to solve this country’s ills.
Many of us who support DU30 agree on the causes of the pervasive frustration resulting in our government’s perceived stasis. But we differ in the solutions. As a blue-blooded parliamentary-federalist, I am also aghast at the recalcitrance of the Congress to work on the revision of the 1987 Constitution, this oligarch-influenced document that has reinforced the systemic perversions of the unitary system of governance in the lives of the Filipinos for a hundred years.
PRRD mentioned “revgov” as simply a threat, a sword of Damocles hanging over the heads of the “yellows,” the CPP-NPA-NDF and the Islamic radicals who are suspected of plotting to topple his government. But he toned down this language when the Armed Forces itself disputed this statement. But the zealots have picked this up as a clarion call to gather the true believers for a show of force today, November 30. Assuming that PRRD were to declare a “revgov,” would he telegraph his punches and join the mob today?
He is the undisputed constitutional leader of this country; although elected by a mere plurality, he has gained majority support to date. So, the zealots introduced another argument: declare a revGov similar to what President Cory did in 1986. Their argument goes this way: President Corg was elected President and sworn in by CJ Davide but she subsequently declared a revolutionary government. This could be the template for PRRD.
Columnist John Nery in the Philippine Daily Inquirer (“Newsstand,” November 21, 2017) pointed out that that the Deegong had already raised this question in August 2015 – long before he declared his candidacy; and reiterated the same in August 2017. Nery proceeded to argue that PRRD then and his cohorts now have a faulty reading of history. I quote: “Corazon Aquino was brought to power by a revolution…that repudiated the rigged election results called under the 1973 (Marcos) Constitution; she replaced it with (the 1987 Constitution). That’s why – and how – in her first year in office she presided over a revolutionary government.”
Senate President Koko Pimentel opined further: “Marcos was also sworn in at the same time as Cory. But because of the Edsa People Power Revolution booting out Marcos, Cory won. The 1973 Marcos Constitution was in effect null and void.” Cory issued Proclamation No. 3 establishing a revolutionary government and promulgated the provisional 1986 Freedom Constitution. She exercised powers until the 1987 Constitution was ratified.
But in an article in the Mindanao Times on November 24, columnist Chito Gavino, claiming superior political knowhow but alien to the nuances of other alternatives, offers the argument that revgov could be “done in a democratic way, meaning ‘of the people, by the people and for the people’.” Enchained to a linear progression of “problems-frustrations-therefore, revgov,” he employs tired old clichés as a backdrop for another upheaval, one that will inveigle the President into declaring a coup d’état against himself.
In short, he claims that the November 30 gathering calling for a revgov is “vox populi, vox dei”; condemning the people to yet another protracted “vox silentium,” akin to the earlier years of the Marcos dictatorship.
The President is a good lawyer and recognizes that Cory’s was not a precedent and will not declare a “revgov” under these circumstances. Yet, his devotees would have him stake his neck and the harsh judgment of history in an illegal and irresponsible adventure. I am myself exasperated, but the proposed “revgov” cure can be deadlier than the disease. We need to help the President see his way clear through this and not pander to his vulnerable passions and rhetoric. So, what then are our alternatives?
Let’s put the problems squarely where they are now. The onus for the revision of the 1987 Constitution rests on the two houses of Congress, but more so the Senate; and the futility of the mode of changing the Constitution – by Congress deciding to vote as one, or separately, to get the three-fourths for a constitutional amendment or revision. The math in favor of constitutional revisions is indeed formidable. The Senate, headed by PDP Laban party-mate Koko Pimentel boasts of its support for PRRD. Yet, the committee on constitutional revisions is chaired by Sen. Kiko Pangilinan, the LP president, the protector of the 1987 Constitution. He is holding hostage the future of this Republic and the next few generations. With him are Senators Bam Aquino, Leila de Lima, Franklin Drilon, Ralph Recto, Antonio Trillanes and Risa Hontiveros. This is unacceptable. There has to be a constitutional and legal way to break the impasse and crack the hold of an impudent minority on the body politic. In a democratic system, negotiations are the norm to arrive at an agreement and a win-win solution between parties with divergent and oftentimes contradictory interests. Surely, we do not need a “revgov” to have these august members of the Senate see the Deegong’s way through?
But where is the vaunted political will of PRRD? The kind of sense of purpose that allowed “tokhang” to arrest the proliferation of the illegal drug menace and stop in their tracks the Parojinogs, the Espinosas etc.? But have we exhausted all efforts at negotiation? Have we closed the avenues for compromise, and the application of threats and pressure as legitimate tools, when necessary?
Do we need to spill blood that is sure to ensue in a “revgov” because of the obduracy of a few people? Why involve the whole country? Do you use a hammer to exterminate a fly? Can the President not do a surgical operation? These are templates worth looking into. Let’s all think through these alternatives and crowdsource specific solutions in social media where truly the “vox populi” can be heard.
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Wednesday, 29 November 2017 16:01
Dominguez thanks Senate for passing its TRAIN version
Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III said the government is now one big step closer to reforming the country’s tax system for the first time in over two decades–and providing a steady revenue stream to its ambitious infrastructure buildup–with the Senate’s approval of its version of the proposed Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion Act (TRAIN).
Thanking the Senate for approving its version of TRAIN on third and final reading, Dominguez expressed hopes that both chambers could wrap up bicameral deliberations on the first of the government’s five tax reform packages in time for the submission of the final version to President Duterte by December–so that a new law to this effect could be signed and implemented as scheduled by January 2018.
Dominguez said “the Senate’s timely approval of its TRAIN version moves the government one big step closer to overhauling the tax system for the first time in two decades with the primary benefit going to 99 percent of the country’s taxpayers who are to get higher take-home pay as a result of substantial cuts in their personal income tax rates or–better yet–outright exemption from income taxation.”
The Senate on Tuesday night voted 17-1 to pass the TRAIN on final reading.
Senate Bill (SB) No. 1592, the chamber’s version of the TRAIN, was sponsored by Senator Juan Edgardo Angara, who chairs the Senate ways and means committee.
According to Angara, “under the Senate-approved tax reform package, 60 percent of the incremental revenues will go to infrastructure programs, 27 percent will be allocated to social protection programs including the unconditional cash transfer to the poorest 10 million Filipino families and health, nutrition and anti-hunger programs, while 13 percent will be allocated to military modernization programs.”
“We thank the Senate for its vote on its version of the tax reform bill. We hope that with the Senate’s swift action on the measure, the two chambers of the Congress can soon sit down in the bicameral conference committee to thresh out a reconciled version of the bill that would provide the most benefit for the majority of the Filipinos while raising additional revenues to support our infrastructure modernization program,” Dominguez said.
“We are hoping that a final congressional version of the TRAIN could be sent to the President’s desk by December, so the tax reform bill could then be signed into law and implemented as scheduled by January next year,” he said.
House Bill (HB) No. 5636, the TRAIN version approved by the House of Representatives last May 31.
The Senate version provides additional revenue-generating measures that are not in the House version of TRAIN. But both Senate and House versions provide for tax exemptions for those earning P25o,ooo and below.
Among the additional TRAIN measures approved by the Senate on third and final reading are the doubling of the prevailing documentary stamp tax (DST) rates, except for property, which will remain as is, and loans, which will increase by 50 percent.
The DST increases include those on bank checks that will double from P1.50 to P3; on original issue of shares of stock, P1 to P2; and sales or transfer of shares of stock, P0.75 to P1.50.
Last May, President Duterte certified as an urgent and priority measure for congressional approval the TRAIN, which, he said, is crucial to the financial sustainability of the government’s ambitious agenda to sustain the country’s growth momentum and accelerate poverty reduction via a massive spending on infrastructure, human capital and social protection for the poor and vulnerable sectors.
In separate letters sent to Senate President Aquilino Pimentel III and Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez, the President said: “The benefits to be derived from this tax reform measure will sustainably finance the Government’s envisioned massive investments in infrastructure thereby encouraging economic activity and job creation, as well as fund the desired increase in the public budget for health, education and social programs to alleviate poverty.”
The DOF submitted to the House of Representatives its original TRAIN proposal in September last year, which was later modified and introduced in the chamber by Quirino Rep. Dakila Carlo Cua as HB 4774 and later consolidated with other tax reform-related measures as HB 5636.
This House version was finally approved by the House before the adjournment of the first regular session of the 17th Congress last May.
The Senate ways and means committee began the deliberations on the TRAIN, which was filed in the chamber by Senate President Aquilino Pimentel III as Senate Bill (SB) No. 1408, last March 22.
The Senate began conducting plenary debates on the revised measure, SB 1592, on Nov. 22 and finally approved it with substantial amendments last Nov. 28.
Dominguez earlier said that, “To sustainably finance these massive investments in infrastructure and in the people, tax policy reform will be crucial alongside tax administration and budget reforms.”
“The tax reform bill seeks to achieve a simpler, fairer, and more efficient tax system characterized by lower rates and a broader base, to encourage investment, job creation, and poverty reduction,” Dominguez said.
According to Dominguez, the TRAIN bill is “expected to help reduce poverty rate from 21.6 percent in 2015 to 14 percent in 2022, lifting some six million Filipinos out of poverty, and helping the country achieve upper middle-income country status where per capita gross national income increases from $3,500 in 2015 to at least $4,100 by 2022.” | DOF-PR
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Tuesday, 28 November 2017 09:24
President Duterte wants special session in Congress to discuss BBL
Sultan Kudarat, Maguindanao — President Rodrigo Duterte said on Monday, November 27, that he will ask Congress to hold a special session to discuss the proposed Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL).
President Duterte issued the statement during the first Bangsamoro Assembly held at the Old Provincial Capitol here attended by government peace process officials and leaders of Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) and other concerned stakeholders.
“I will work very hard for it. I will ask Congress to a special session just to hear you talk about this in Congress,” Duterte said.
“Ang akin, it must be inclusive. Lahat. Walang maiwan dito sa peace talks na ito. The MILF, the MNLF, lahat na, Lumad, kailangan kasali,” he added.
The Chief Executive vowed to support the BBL noting that he would try to “work out” the disagreements in the proposals that will be discussed in Congress.
He, meanwhile, asked the public for more patience as the passage of the proposed BBL could encounter some delays due to the complexity of the issue.
“Of course it entails delays. Alam niyo, it takes forever to move. Somebody has to push it because there are thousands of concerns. But I will impress upon them that you have to devote even one day or two days. Hear them out, hear us from Mindanao,” he said.
The President noted that the discussions must be geared towards correcting the social injustice suffered by the Moro people and then crafting something that would preserve the Republic.
“I will only work with one thing in mind: There must be one nation for all and one republic for all. A Republic of the Philippines for all of us, Moro and Christians alike,” he said.
“I am doing everything to avoid a breakage or a fissure somehow in Mindanao. I’m going to walk the hundreds of miles, not the mile, as a first step, but there has to be a condition that is for all,” he added.
He said any agreement must contain the basics of a truly autonomous region, with the Mindanaoans enjoying all their natural resources but still sharing a portion to the national government.
Finding a solution to the Mindanao problem is crucial, he said, noting that failing to do so may lead to a renewed eruption of a worse regional conflict.
“The Republic of the Philippines must be one and the preservation of all Filipinos, Christian, Muslims, and all, must be there to unite us,” he said. (PND)
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Monday, 27 November 2017 12:05
Drilon, Escudero warn of constitutional crisis amid Sereno impeachment case
Two senators have warned of a constitutional crisis on the issue of Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno’s continued refusal to attend the impeachment proceedings against her at the House of Representatives.
This following Oriental Mindoro Representative Reynaldo Umali’s reported statement that the House committee on justice, which he chairs, might be compelled to issue a subpoena, and subsequently, a warrant of arrest if Sereno refuses to testify before the panel.
On Monday, Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon pointed out that the power of Congress to issue a subpoena and order the detention of a witness who refuses to obey the subpoena is only available in investigations in aid of legislation.
“It is not available in an impeachment proceeding,” Drilon said in a text message to reporters. “In effect, a subpoena will compel Sereno in an impeachment complaint to testify against herself.”
“I therefore urge Cong. Umali to exercise extreme caution in using the coercive powers of Congress to issue a subpoena against Sereno as there is no basis and will provoke a needless constitutional crisis,” the minority leader added.
Senator Francis Escudero also cautioned that, “It may result in a constitutional crisis if the CJ refuses to attend.”
In a text message, Escudero likewise explained: “But if I remember correctly, the attendance/participation of the respondent in an impeachment case, or in any case for that matter, cannot be compelled to give evidence vs himself/herself even if he/she attends.”
Umali, in a radio interview over the weekend, said the committee might have to issue a subpoena to the Chief Justice is there’s really a need for her to testify on the complaint against her.
“Kung hindi sinunod, ma-oobliga na tayo na mag-isyu ng warrant,” the lawmaker was quoted in the report as saying. /kga
This following Oriental Mindoro Representative Reynaldo Umali’s reported statement that the House committee on justice, which he chairs, might be compelled to issue a subpoena, and subsequently, a warrant of arrest if Sereno refuses to testify before the panel.
On Monday, Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon pointed out that the power of Congress to issue a subpoena and order the detention of a witness who refuses to obey the subpoena is only available in investigations in aid of legislation.
“It is not available in an impeachment proceeding,” Drilon said in a text message to reporters. “In effect, a subpoena will compel Sereno in an impeachment complaint to testify against herself.”
“I therefore urge Cong. Umali to exercise extreme caution in using the coercive powers of Congress to issue a subpoena against Sereno as there is no basis and will provoke a needless constitutional crisis,” the minority leader added.
Senator Francis Escudero also cautioned that, “It may result in a constitutional crisis if the CJ refuses to attend.”
In a text message, Escudero likewise explained: “But if I remember correctly, the attendance/participation of the respondent in an impeachment case, or in any case for that matter, cannot be compelled to give evidence vs himself/herself even if he/she attends.”
Umali, in a radio interview over the weekend, said the committee might have to issue a subpoena to the Chief Justice is there’s really a need for her to testify on the complaint against her.
“Kung hindi sinunod, ma-oobliga na tayo na mag-isyu ng warrant,” the lawmaker was quoted in the report as saying. /kga
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