Senator Bam Aquino on Wednesday challenged the government’s financial managers to personally go down to the people and listen totheir pleas on the high prices of goods due to Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion Law.
“That’s true, numbers don’t lie. You go to the market, the prices of goods don’t lie,” said Aquino, one of four senators who voted against the ratification of the government’s tax reform program. He said that the ”hard fact’ is that Filipinos are drowning due to high prices.”
Aquino made the statement after Budget Secretary Ben Diokno said that “hard facts” will refute President Duterte’s statement that the economy is in the doldrums due to high prices of goods.
Aquino, meanwhile, asked the administration to support his measure calling for the immediate suspension of the excise tax on petroleum products under the TRAIN Law to ease the public’s burden.
Under Aquino’s measure, the excise tax on fuel under the TRAIN Law will be rolled back once average inflation rate surpasses the annual inflation target over a three-month period.
Aquino also called on the government to fully implement the mitigating measures under the TRAIN Law, such as the unconditional cash transfer program for poor families and the Pantawid Pasada for jeepney operators and drivers.
Also, Aquino said the high price of sugar will hit poor Filipinos so that the roll back of the TRAIN’s excise tax on fuel is necessary.
While the Sugar Regulatory Administration monitors and maintain sugar prices, the senator said the government must ensure that financial assistance and other mitigating measures under the tax reform program are rolled out immediately.
Aquino added that the increase in prices of sugar will also result in the rise in prices of flour, bread and other sweetened products that are essential commodities to families.
He renewed his call to the administration to support his measure that seeks to suspend and roll back the excise tax on petroleum products under the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) Law.