The AnaKalusugan party-list group on Friday expressed support for the Department of Finance’s (DOF) move to hike taxes on junk food and sweetened beverages to address diseases arising from poor diet.
The group’s nominee, Rep. Ray T. Reyes at the same time pushed for the passage of House Bill 7485 which proposes to increase the excise tax on sugar-sweetened beverages to discourage the consumption of sugary beverages and increase revenue specifically intended to finance the implementation of Republic Act 11223, otherwise known as the Universal Health Care Act.
“This bill seeks to advance health equity by generating revenue for the government, which is proposed to finance the implementation of the Universal Health Care Act,” according to Reyes.
He said he is confident will now gain the support from several of his colleagues in Congress with the DOF support on the measure.
“The Anakalusugan Partylist representative also expresses confidence that with the additional funding out of this tax measure, the objectives of the Universal Health Care Act to promote the Filipinos’ right to health, equitable access to quality and affordable health care, and healthy living conditions will be realized,” Reyes said.
The Reyes bill proposes an amendment to Section 150-B of the National Internal Revenue Code, to read as follows: “SEC. 150-B. Sweetened Beverages. – (A) (1) A tax of eight pesos (P8.00) per liter of volume capacity shall be levied, assessed and collected on sweetened beverages using purely caloric sweeteners, and purely non-caloric sweeteners, or a mix of caloric and non-caloric sweeteners.
The new tax rate, if the proposal is enacted, will not apply to sweetened beverages using high fructose corn syrup, and exempts sweetened beverages using purely coconut sap sugar and purely steviol glycosides.
More importantly, the proposal pushes for “a tax of FIFTEEN pesos (P15.00) per liter of volume capacity shall be levied, assessed, and collected on sweetened beverages using purely high fructose corn syrup or in combination with any caloric or non-caloric sweetener.”
Data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) revealed that from January to December 2020, diabetes ranked fourth among the leading causes of death in the Philippines because of the consumption growth of highly processed foods and sugary beverages.
Despite the additional annual allocation for Philhealth for implementing the Universal Health Care Act reflected in the General Appropriations Act, a budget deficit still hinders its full implementation.
Health spending in the past years has risen due to the pandemic, but the expenditure program for the UHC in the national budget remained the same.