Senate President Pro Tempore Ralph Recto asked the government on Friday not to increase the cost of car registration once the graft-ridden Road Board is abolished.
“The abolition of the Road Board should not tempt the administration to push through with its plan to raise motor vehicle registration fees,” Recto said.
“’The end’ na ang Road Board. But raising car registration fees should not be its sequel. Hindi ito dapat ang next picture,” he added.
Recto said proposals to increase the rates of what is officially called the Motor Vehicle User’s Charge have been conveyed to the House and Senate by executive branch officials.
One proposal, he said, “indexes MVUC to inflation, meaning it will be raised based on the inflation rates through the years.”
He said it’s burdensome if it’s adjusted to inflation, using 2004 as base year. He said the payment for registration of a bantam car and SUV would also increase by 72 percent.
“There is also another showing that there will be a 50 percent increase. There is a 100 percent ang increase,” he said.
These, however, have not moved through the legislative mill for lack of a determined push by the executive and a presidential certification that it is an urgent measure.
As early as two years ago, Recto had warned of a “three strike package” being prepared by the new government against motor vehicle owners.
These, he said, were the additional excise tax on fuel, higher taxes on motor vehicles and adjusting the MVUC. The first two have been effected through the TRAIN Law.
“Baka pwede, huwag nang ituloy ‘yung strike 3, ‘yung sa MVUC. Kasi sapat na ang buwis sa gasolina bilang tax sa paggamit ng kalsada.
The Senate leader said there is already a toll fee in the gas tax. Kung limang kilometro kada litro ang itinatakbo ng sasakyan mo, sa 50 kilometrong ginapang mo, ang gas tax mo ay P144.
He said government should now be content that P46.25 billion in MVUC collections can now be booked, rightfully, as tax, and they must be reflected as such in revenue reports..
“In fact, by putting this in the General Fund, there should be less pressure in increasing taxes,” the senator added.
For 2019, government has projected to collect, through the Land Transportation Office, P13.93B in MVUC.