Senatorial candidate Leyte Rep. Martin Romualdez on Saturday renewed his call for the passage of the proposed Freedom of Information Bill to promote transparency in government transactions and boost tax collections as well.
Romualdez’s push for the FoI passage came as he reiterated his commitment to oppose any new tax measures should he win a Senate seat.
Romualdez said the FoI bill will empower the public to scrutinize public funds aimed at sustaining government’s financial requirements, including the implementation of his proposed institutionalization of expanded conditional cash transfer (CCT) program.
He said passing new tax measures is not an option to his advocacy as “malasakit” (compassion) to the poorest of the poor, explaining the people should instead rally behind all measures that would address corruption.
“The government needs more resources, but sustaining the increasing expenditures should not burden the poorest of the poor. Instead of passing tax measures, we should strengthen financial transactions through the passage of FoI measure to address tax leakage and all forms of corruption. We have to show malasakit to the people,” Romualdez pointed out.
“To afford the ordinary Juan and his family a decent standard of living, we need tax reform—adjust exemptions and deductions so people have more money to take home and spend for their families. Adjusting tax rates for the earning but still poor or struggling by taking inflation into consideration in the outdated Tax Code. Inflation of currencies and high prices of basic commodities and utility services,” Romualdez stressed.
Romualdez authored President Benigno Aquino III’s recently signed Republic Act 10754 exempting more than 1.5 million persons with disabilities from the payment of 12-percent value added tax on certain goods and services.
Presidential candidate Rodrigo Duterte adopted Romualdez, head of the House Independent Bloc and a three-term congressman who is running for the Senate under a platform anchored on compassionate governance, as one of his guest senatorial candidates for sharing similar platforms of government in ensuring peace and order, curbing graft and corruption, giving free college education, improving health services, institutionalizing and expanding the CCT, and among others.
Romualdez finished his undergraduate studies with a degree in Bachelor of Arts in Government from Cornell University in Ithaca, New York in 1985 and obtained in 1988 a Certificate of Special Studies in Administration and Management from the Harvard University in Boston, Massachusetts.
Romualdez, a lawyer from the University of the Philippines and president of the Philippine Constitution Association, ran unopposed in the last polls and a former chairman of the House committee on ethics and privileges.
Romualdez is also a shared senatorial candidates of Vice President Jejomar Binay and Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago and has been endorsed by the 40-man Party-list Coalition Foundation Inc. and the Nationalist People’s Coalition, he country’s second largest political party.