BIR urged to submit proposal to lower income tax rates before PNoy’s SONA

MANILA-While he welcomed the “openness” of the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) to lower income tax rates, Senator Juan Edgardo "Sonny" Angara expressed hope that the BIR proposal will be submitted sooner, possibly in July so that President Aquino can include it in the “wish list” that he will ask Congress to consider during his State of the Nation Address this year.

“The earlier it is submitted, the more time we can study it, and the better our bill will be,” said Angara, chair of the Senate ways and means committee.

“The dynamics in legislation is that it will take a year for a bill to be passed into law. So I think submitting it this July will fit just right in the congressional template of doing things,” he stressed.

“And, even if the BIR is thinking of a delayed effectivity date for the law, there is still merit on the idea of submitting its proposal way ahead," he added.

The senator said the tax agency should not treat its estimated annual revenue loss of P43 billion from reduced individual income rates as “unrecoverable.”

“If withholding tax is converted into disposable income, then it can be recouped through the VAT on goods. If part of the salary intended to be remitted to the BIR will now be spent for goods, then it can still be recaptured through the tax on the goods bought,” Angara explained.

“It will be also good for the economy. It is always better to plow money back in circulation, where it can stimulate the production and consumption of goods. Instead of government doing the spending for the people, let the people do the spending themselves,” he pointed out.

Angara is author of a bill compressing the net taxable income brackets from the present seven to five, and lowering tax rates across-the-board.

At present, an annual net income, after allowable deductions, of P10,000, which is the lowest in the tiers, is taxed 5 percent.

Under Angara’s Senate Bill 2149, the “no tax zone” will be raised to P20,000.

As to the next bracket under his proposal—from P20,000 to P70,000—he wants a tax of 15 percent in 2015, to go down to 13 percent in 2016, and further to 10 percent by 2017.

Currently, a net taxable income of between P30,000 and P70,000 is taxed P2,500 plus 15 percent of the amount over P30,000.

The neophyte senator is also proposing to slash the current highest tax bite of 32 percent for income above P500,000 to 22 percent by 2017.

Once enacted into law, Angara's bill will retain more money in paychecks of ordinary salaried workers.

“A policeman whose net taxable income is P150,000 at present pays P25,000 in income tax. Under my proposal, he will just pay P19,000 by 2017," he noted.

Citing another example, the lawmaker said a small business owner whose net taxable income is P550,000 a year will see his tax payment go down to P97,500 in 2017 from the present P141,000.

He emphasized that the smaller tax rates will lead to greater voluntary compliance.

“It will also attract human capital and to prevent the migration of our own to countries with lower tax rates and do not punish industry and productivity with onerous tax rates," Angara said. 

Exempt volunteer firetrucks from LTO fees - Recto

MANILA-To thank them for their services, government should waive vehicle registration fees of volunteer-owned fire trucks and place the brave men manning them under PhilHealth insurance.

Senate President Pro-Tempore Ralph Recto said at present, no incentives, “except perhaps for the token plaque of appreciation,” are given to volunteer firemen who put their lives on the line to save lives and property. 

Recto made the proposal as the nation marks Fire Prevention Month with a government grappling with the lack of fire trucks to respond to one distress call every 48 minutes.

Last year, fires cost P5.5 billion in damages to property.

Recto said the damage would have been bigger if not for volunteer fire trucks which in Metro Manila and in other big cities today outnumber the fleet operated by the Bureau of Fire Protection.

Because the law exempts no private motor vehicle from registration fees, Recto suggested that any of the cash-rich government corporations, like Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation, foot the bill instead.

“It will be a good CSR project of Pagcor.  Pagcor supporting volunteer firetrucks – that’s a winning combination,” Recto said.

“The same applies to PhilHealth if it automatically enrolls members of volunteer firefighting brigades,” Recto added.  

Recto said if government will be spending P567billion in subsidies and financial aid to individuals and government corporations this year, then there is no reason why it cannot grant the same to volunteer fire brigades.   

“Kahit yung libreng LTO registration na lang, which will not exceed P20,000 per vehicle,baka yun na ang pwedeng equity ng gobyerno sa serbisyo ng mga volunteer firemen,” the senator said.

In addition to waiving LTO fees for fire trucks and providing health insurance to volunteer firemen, Recto said government should study the possibility of giving life insurance to volunteers.

“Magkano lang ba ang premium ng life insurance? It is small compared to the average P388,000 in annual total PS (personal services) cost per BFP employee,” he said.

In 2012, the government reported that 645 towns and cities do not have fire stations, while 666 others make do with only old and dilapidated fire trucks.

To reverse years of neglect, President Aquino earlier this month approved the release of P3.4 billion for the purchase of 300 fire trucks and the construction of 300 fire stations. 

Legarda: Build On the Gains of PHL’s Success in Women Empowerment

MANILA-In celebration of the International Women’s Day, Senator Loren Legarda today said that the country must build on the gains of its success in women empowerment, noting that the Philippines is number one among Southeast Asian nations in closing the gender gap.

"Filipino women are involved in all sectors of our society. In fact, they are present in more than a hundred countries around the world, caring for children and parents not their own, and operating businesses and industries as part of the force that drives the growth of the global community. We are sharing 10 million Filipinos with the rest of the world, and 60% of them are women,” said Legarda.

“This reality compels us to continuously search for measures that will protect our women at home and beyond,” she added.

The Senator said that the country has been improving on its women empowerment and gender equality initiatives as the implementation of related policies are improving through the years.

In November 2013, Legarda, on behalf of the Philippine government, received the Award for Closing the Gender Gap in South and Southeast Asia at the Women in Parliaments Global Forum in Brussels, Belgium.

The award was given to the Philippines for ranking first among nations in South and Southeast Asia in the World Economic Forum’s survey of nations’ ability to close the gender gap.

Legarda highlighted the country’s success in closing the gender gap through relevant policies and programs of the government, including laws she authored and co-authored for the protection of women: the Anti-Violence Against Women and Children Act, the Magna Carta of Women, the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act, and the Domestic Workers Act, among many others.

“We are already number one in Southeast Asia and in the 2013 Global Gender Gap Report by the World Economic Forum (WEF), we are ranked fifth in the world in a survey of nations’ ability to close gender gap. The challenge today is to maintain these gains,” Legarda said.

“Women have been in leadership positions and continue to lead in the Philippines, but challenges will never go away. We must provide women the needed support to have the confidence to lead and be at the forefront of efforts to improve Filipino communities and take initiatives that will contribute to the nation’s progress,” she concluded.

Senate hopes BIR proposal for lower tax rates will come with PNoy certification

MANILA-One of the three senators who have filed bills seeking to reduce personal income tax rates today welcomed the statement of Bureau of Internal Revenue chief Kim Henares that the agency will draft its own proposal. 

“Coming from Commissioner Henares, that’s a great leap forward,” Senator Ralph Recto said. 

Recto said the Senate is looking forward to receiving what Henares described in a TV interview as BIR’s “holistic study” on the matter.

"When it is ready, I hope it would come to us with a presidential certification that is an urgent measure," Recto said. 

While the BIR is preparing its position, Recto said the upper chamber will continue “calling hearings and running some numbers on how to adjust income tax rates which were pegged 17 years ago.”

He said last week’s hearing by Senate Ways and Means chair Sen. Juan Edgardo Angara on various tax break bills was the start of  a process of recalibrating income tax brackets and rates.  

Discussed during the said hearing was Recto’s Senate Bill (SB) 716, Angara’s SB 2149, and Sen. Bam Aquino’s SB 1942.

In his bill’s explanatory note, Recto said when the present individual tax brackets and rates were imposed in 1997, the cost of goods was half than what it is now.

“The Consumer Price Index from 1998 to May 2013 almost doubled. The basket of goods costing P100 in 1998 was worth P196 in May last year,” he said.

He said Section 24 of the National Internal Revenue Code of 1997 should be amended to reflect the erosion in the value of money.

Current tax rates, based on annual net taxable income, meaning after deductions are as follows :

Below P10,000                               5 %

P10,000 to not over P30,000         P500 + 10% in excess of P20,000

P30,000 to not over P70,000         P2,500 + 15%  in excess  of P30,000 

P70,000 to not over P140,000       P8,500 +20%  in excess of  P70,000

P140,000 to not over P250,000     P22,500 +25% in excess of P140,000

P 250,000 to not over P500,000    P50,000 +30% in excess of P250,000

P500,000 and up                            P125,000 + 32% in excess of P500,000

Recto is batting for a new schedule that would impose no tax on net income of below P20,000. 

For a net taxable income of below P60,000, a tax of 10 %; 15% for  P60,000 to not over P140,000; 20% for P140,000 to not over P280,000; P25 % for P280,000 to not over P500,000; 30 % for P500,000 to not over P1,000,000.      

He said his proposed tax rates can still be lowered if studies will show that government can absorb the foregone revenues.

“In reality, we can lower the rates further, but in lawmaking, we  have to veto-proof our proposals. The political reality is that eventually the final call is with the executive branch so we’re putting forward a set of proposal that they’ll find hard to veto,” he said. 

ANGARA BATS FOR LOWER INCOME TAX RATES

MANILA-To ease Filipinos' financial burden, Senator Juan Edgardo "Sonny" Angara has filed a bill that seeks to reduce the rates of individual income tax and adjust the individual income tax brackets.

"The general policy is that taxation must be uniform but it also must be progressive. Dapat nakabase siya sa kakayahan ng taxpayer na magbayad. Karamihan nga sa ating mga kababayan ay lugmok sa kahirapan. 30 to 40 percent are living below the poverty line. We must do everything we can to help them and I think this is one way we can look at," said Angara, chair of the Senate committee on ways and means.

Angara's Senate Bill No. 2149 aims to reduce the country's individual income tax rate from the current 32 percent to 25 percent by 2017.

"Tax system should not only be a means to raise revenues for the State but it should also be a way or a method by which the State can promote its ends. I know the Aquino administration is big on inclusive growth especially in a country where there are vast income differences. We're on the same team here. I think with smaller tax rates, we can have greater voluntary compliance," he said.

The lawmaker also emphasized that his proposed measure is in preparation for the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) Integration, and is consistent with the Philippine commitment to the 10-member ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) Blueprint, which seeks to transform ASEAN into a single market and production base by December 2015.

"While the ASEAN Blueprint does not mandate member countries to amend their income tax schedules, it is highly expected that human capital would flow to where it could earn best. When the AEC Declaration was signed in 2007, some member-states began to lower their corporate and individual income tax rates, with further reductions in the subsequent years," Angara said.

The neophyte senator cited that the Philippines has the highest individual income tax rate next to Thailand's 37 percent and Vietnam's 35 percent.

Meanwhile, the highest tax bracket of Cambodia is 20 percent, Indonesia 30 percent, Laos 24 percent, Malaysia 26 percent, Myanmar 20 percent and Singapore 20 percent.

He further noted that the country's current individual income tax bracket has remained unchanged since 1997 until today even when the consumer price index has almost doubled already.

"In order for the Philippines to attract human capital and to prevent the migration of our own, it is imperative that we reduce the existing income tax rates while maintaining the progressivity of our income tax system, as mandated by the 1987 Philippine Constitution," he said.

The Angara bill provides that in order to buffer the revenue impact of the individual income bracket adjustments and the reduction of individual income tax rates, the tax rate reduction will be spread over a period of three years starting 2015.

The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR), however, maintains that it would oppose any measure that will result to revenue loss.

"Since we are tasked and our performance is based on collection, it would be positive for us if whatever measure would be revenue neutral and if there will be resulting revenue loss, there should be identification of revenue raising measure to compensate the revenue loss that will result from this proposal," said BIR Assistant Commissioner Marissa Cabreros during Tuesday's ways and means public hearing.

Department of Finance Undersecretary Jeremias Paul also revealed that the government stands to lose at least P43 billion by 2017 if SB 2149 will be passed.

There have been reports that the counterpart committee in the House of Representatives is looking into raising the value added tax (VAT) to compensate the revenue loss of lowering income tax.

The senator, however, worries that an increase in VAT might also trickle down to the purchasing power of consumers. "Not to mention it's very unpopular," he quipped.

Nevertheless, the chair of the powerful Senate ways and means committee said he would refer similar bills reducing income tax to a technical working group to further study the matter.

Legarda Echoes UN Call for Safe Schools

MANILA-Senator Loren Legarda today echoed the call of the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR) for the Philippines to be a leader country in building safe schools.

Legarda, the UN Champion for Disaster Risk Reduction and Climate Change Adaptation, made the statement as the UNISDR and the Department of Education, in partnership with the Office of Senator Loren Legarda, launched the UN Global Programme on Safe Schools in the Philippines.

“By safe, we mean that school buildings should be structurally sound and built on safe ground. We do not want a strong temblor killing hundreds of children studying inside their classrooms or a whole mountain of mud instantly burying children alive, like what happened in Barangay Guinsaugon,” she said.

The safe schools program invites citizens to participate in the process of making schools disaster-resilient with the initial step of assessing the safety of schools in their communities.

The Senator recalled that in 2006, 246 schoolchildren were among the more than 1,000 casualties in a landslide that followed several days of heavy rains in Barangay Guinsaugon, St. Bernard, Southern Leyte.

Meanwhile, in 2013, when typhoon Yolanda made landfall, even some evacuation centers were reached by the storm surge, instantly killing hundreds of individuals who thought they had already sought refuge. Yolanda damaged more than 3,000 schools, aside from other infrastructure, in the affected regions.

“It is estimated that annually, disasters affect 66.5 million children worldwide; and because children are among the most vulnerable to disasters, it is important that not only do we keep our children out of harm’s way, but also we make them part of building resilient communities,” said Legarda.

She explained that learning institutions and the youth should be directly involved in efforts to make communities safe from disasters. Children should witness and practice disaster risk reduction early on in life.

“If we inculcate in our children a level of disaster preparedness, this will be passed on to the succeeding generations when they become adults. This is what we aim with the safe schools initiative. We need safe schools; we need schoolchildren who are knowledgeable and informed about DRR. In making our nation disaster-resilient, we not only protect our young people, but also invest in our country’s future,” Legarda concluded.

P20-M PNP hostel to rise in NE

CABANATUAN CITY, Nueva Ecija – A three-story, P20-million hostel for the Philippine National Police will rise inside the provincial police camp here soon to serve as home to police officers in the province.

          The exquisitely designed hostel and multi-purpose building was unveiled during ground-breaking ceremonies inside the provincial public safety company compound fronting the Nueva Ecija Provincial Police Office here Monday.

          Nueva Ecija Gov. Aurelio Umali said the facility, which will serve as the police officers’ “home away from home,” will be finished in six months. It was funded by the provincial government out of its realigned intelligence funds.

          Umali led the ground-breaking rites for the building along with PNP Chief Director General Alan Madrid Purisima, National Police Commission vice chairman Eduardo Escueta and Commissioners Alejandro Urro and Luisito Palmera and provincial police director, Senior Superintendent Crizaldo Nieves.

          Umali said the facility will house a conference hall in the ground floor, 10 mini-suites in the second floor and four suites in the third floor. He said the provincial police can hold their command conference as well as small gatherings and functions in the area which will be a wi-fi zone.

          He added that this is the first known provincial camp in the country where the local PNP will have lodging houses.

          Purisima said such facility will be a big help, particularly to transient officers and men and also to their families who come for a visit.

Nieves said that the facility is something the local police can be proud of. He said that such facility gives the local police a more dignified look and commands respect from the public.

          He said that the Umali administration has been very supportive of the PNP, citing the turn-over in recent months by the provincial government to the NEPPO of patrol vehicles and the construction of other amenities such as the PPSC headquarters and gymnasium plus training on the upgrading of police capabilities.   

          Umali, who is chairman of the Regional Peace and Order Council, said that his administration has been extending full support to the local PNP because it was instrumental in changing the image of the province from a political war zone into a zone of peace, referring to the spate of politically motivated killings .

          “Before, Nueva Ecija’s history was written in violence. I have to rewrite it and I can only do that if I have the support of the police,” he said in his speech.

          He said the province was so blessed to have Purisima – a Novo Ecijano - as the chief of the 148,000-strong police force.

          The governor said his administration has been extending assistance to the local PNP as a show of respect to the law enforcers, something which, he said, should be followed by other local government units in the province.

          “If you can give your life in the service, then the LGUs should pay respect to you by providing you with a decent and dignified place to live in,” he said.

          Umali said that year in and year out, the various police offices have been undergoing repair yet support is wanting. “It’s about time that if we really respect the PNP, let’s help them and not just talk,” he said, referring to the LGUs.

He said he is taking his hats off the PNP not only for transforming the image of the province but also for but also for its crime-busting efforts which resulted in reduced criminality. “You should wear your uniforms proudly,” he added. (Manny Galvez)          

Drilon, P. Cayetano urge colleagues to pass graphic health warnings on cigarette packs

MANILA-Senate President Franklin M. Drilon along with Senator Pia S. Cayetano introduced a measure on Monday which requires tobacco companies to display graphic labels on their products depicting the full health consequences of smoking, the latest of legislative efforts aimed at reducing the smoking incidence rates in the country.  

“The bill is necessary in order to strengthen the government's efforts to discourage smoking among our citizenry. Smokers have to be informed and made fully aware of what will happen to their health every time they pick up a cigarette pack," Drilon explained.

In his sponsorship speech, Drilon said the proposed picture-based health warning law seeks to increase the awareness of the public especially among the youth on the harmful and deadly effects of smoking.

He stressed that the measure’s passage is “of vital importance in the health situation of the country,” saying that the country has to badly address the unabated rise of cigarette smokers amongst Filipinos.

   

“The Philippines still registers as having one of the highest smoking incidences in the Western Pacific Region, even with measures like the Sin Tax Bill in effect. A much more decisive government action on this issue is then evidently required,” he said.

Based on the estimates done by the Department of Health, 87,600 Filipino die annually, or about ten Filipino deaths for every hour, due to smoking-related complications. Also, cigarette smoking costs an estimated P188 billion in annual health care expenses and productivity losses.

Cayetano, in her co-sponsorship speech, urged for a more decisive government action on smoking, in order to help stem large-scale human death smoking causes: "More than 5 million people die each year from direct tobacco use, while more than 600,000 people die from second hand smoke. With current smoking patterns, around 500 million people die will eventually die from tobacco use." 

Drilon then pointed to the main objective of the bill: “the passage of this proposed measure will bring closer to our goal of protecting the present and future generations from the devastating health, social, environmental and economic consequences of tobacco consumption and exposure to tobacco smoke.”

Under the bill, tobacco products have to display picture-based health warnings in full colour with accompanying text warnings that will be printed on at least 60 percent of the principal display surfaces for any tobacco package. The warnings will show the dangers of tobacco smoking or passive smoking, following guidelines to be issued by the Department of Health.

Drilon reasoned that graphic-based warnings on tobacco use are more effective than text-based warnings in educating the public about tobacco-induced health complications: “When we look at other countries where this system has been set in place, they were able to reduce the incidence of smoking in their respective jurisdictions."

Cayetano, for her part, stressed: "while many tobacco users know tobacco is harmful, studies show that most people are unaware of its true risk. Studies have also shown that picture-based warnings are much more effective than text warnings alone."

Both senators have been active in government campaigns against smoking and related health issues. Cayetano had authored and sponsored two earlier versions on graphic health warnings in the previous 14^th and 15^thCongress. Meanwhile, the Senate President has been active in furthering anti-smoking policies in the country, foremost among which is the passage of the Sin Tax Reform Act in 2012. 

Legarda: Invest in Safe, Resilient Schools

MANILA-Senator Loren Legarda today reiterated her call for both the government and the private sector to ensure that all schools in the country are safe from disasters.

Legarda, the UN Champion for Disaster Risk Reduction and Climate Change Adaptation for Asia-Pacific, made the call as the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR), the Department of Education, and the Office of Senator Loren Legarda are set to launch “The Philippines as a Leader Country of the UN Global Programme on Safe Schools Towards the 2015 World Conference on DRR.”

“It is important to make our schools disaster-resilient to keep our children, who are most vulnerable to disasters, out of harm’s way when natural hazards strike. Aside from being a shelter for children, schools are critical public infrastructures, especially in times of disaster when victims need emergency refuge. Therefore, schools must be able to withstand earthquakes, typhoons and other natural hazards,” she said.

Legarda explained that the Safe Schools Campaign of the UNISDR is a global program that aims to encourage governments and communities to assess the safety of schools and build the resilience of these critical structures.

The program invites citizens to participate in the process of making schools disaster-resilient with the initial step of assessing the safety of schools in their communities not only in terms of ensuring the structural integrity of the buildings but also in making sure that students and school staff are prepared in the event a natural hazard occurs.

To facilitate the assessment of school safety in the country, an innovative online system for crowd-sourced hazard-and-risk mapping of schools will be introduced.

 “Safe schools are essential to ensuring that our children are safe from disasters and injuries and thus beneficial to their general health and development. The government must fortify and enhance the structural integrity of public schools, while the private education sector should be encouraged to do the same,” Legarda said.

“Building the resilience of the education sector is a worthy investment. It brings the double benefit of saving lives and achieving our development goals,” she concluded.

Recto files bill decriminalizing libel

MANILA-Senate President Pro Tempore Ralph Recto filed on Feb. 27 a bill decriminalizing libel, joining a growing list of senators wanting to delist it from the book of crimes.

In Senate Bill 2146, Recto traced the origins of libel as a tool against criticisms and to shield public officials from insults.

He said the 84-year-old was a fusion of the Spanish Codigo Penal and the 1932 Revised Penal Code, “with archaic provisions which had been overtaken by jurisprudence expanding free speech.”

In the bill’s explanatory note, the senator echoed Justice Marvic Leonen’s dissent on the Cybercrime Law “that libel prosecution has evolved from protecting both private citizens and public figures to its modern notion of shielding only private parties from defamatory utterances.”

Even if libel will be decriminalized, Recto said there is another way that “scurrilous and defamatory remarks damaging to one’s reputation” can be set right.

“The institution of civil action for damages can restore a sullied reputation,” he said.

Recto said “it is high time for Congress to revisit defamation laws, and recalibrate them in a manner that they can prevent and penalize malicious and unfounded attacks on a person’s reputation without stifling free speech and the open discussion of policies that affect the public.”  

“Even if we take out libel, there should remain a shield which a private, ordinary citizen can use when he is assaulted by harsh tags,” he said.

“We need these safeguards because one of the best apps of a civilized society are laws which allow a private individual robbed of honor to seek restitution,” Recto said.

He said he filed the libel repeal bill because the best way to address the court-upheld cyberlibel provision in the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012 is to go to the source which is the Revised Penal Code.

Recto’s bill seeks to repeal Articles 353,354,355,356, 357, 360, 361 and 362 of the Revised Penal Code and Section 4 (c) 4 of the Republic Act 10175 or the Cybercrime Law. 

Tarlac cops hit for harassing scribe

TARLAC CITY – The leadership of the Central Luzon Media Association yesterday lambasted policemen from the Tarlac Police Provincial Office for allegedly harassing a publisher of a local newsweekly and barring him entry inside the office of the provincial police director.

          Bonifacio Dacayanan, publisher of Facts and Figures Newsweekly based in this city, said the incident took place at around 1 pm last February 26 when he visited the TPPO headquarters in Barangay San Vicente, Camp Macabulos here to inquire about the status of a previously arranged appointment with Senior Superintendent Alex Sintin, newly installed provincial director.

          Dacayanan said two policemen manning the gate of the police camp whom he identified as a certain Police Officer 1 Bautista and one PO1 Rombaoa asked him for his concerns.

When he informed them he was going to meet Sintin, the two lawmen asked him to present his identification card. After doing so, he said the lawmen gave him clearance to proceed to the police headquarters.       

But a few moments later, Dacayanan said one of them called him out and stopped him. The lawman then took his ID and ran towards the headquarters supposedly to show it to officials at the camp.

He said while holding him at the camp gate, others who passed the gate, including ordinary people, were allowed freely inside without being subjected to such harassment. 

After a few minutes, the lawman returned with the ID and finally allowed him to enter the camp.

Dacayanan said prior to the incident, he and Sintin had held initial talks on the possible coordination between the PNP and the media in Tarlac.

Dacayanan said it was not the first time he was maltreated by authorities. He said he received a similar treatment from the Northern Luzon Command (Nolcom) when he visited the military headquarters in Barangay San Miguel in Camp Servillano Aquino here.   

He narrated his experience during the directorate meeting of the CLMA at a local restaurant here Friday night.

        CLMA president Tony Vallejo asked Chief Superintendent Raul  Petrasanta, regional director of the Philippine National Police Regional Office 3, to order a full-dress investigation on the incident to prevent a possible whitewash by the TPPO.

          “We condemn the strongest terms this dastardly treatment of the members of the fourth estate, particularly our own. They ought to accord respect to media practitioners. Authorities should do something about it,” Vallejo said. (Manny Galvez)   

Senate slashed DSWD publicity budget to enrol 100,000 Yolanda victims in CCT

MANILA-Twenty thousand additional Yolanda-stricken families will be included  in the government’s Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) program this year, courtesy of a Senate amendment in the 2014 national budget which slashed P336 million from the program’s overhead in order to enroll that many typhoon victims.

The senator who authored the amendment, Ralph Recto, said that as a result of the Senate action, an equivalent of 100,000 more individuals in Yolanda areas will be brought under the coverage of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps), CCT’s official name.

“Calamity victims should not live from one relief bag to another. One of the best forms of aid is the 4Ps because it is predictable, guaranteed and sustained.  Yan ang tunay na pantawid, hindi pansamantala o panandalian,” Recto, who is also Senate President Pro-Tempore, said.

With their enrollment in 4Ps, Recto said the 20,000 families will receive P16,800 this year, in monthly payouts of P1,400, provided that they comply with certain “conditionalities” like regular attendance of their children in school.      

He explained that what the Senate did to fund the enrollment of 20,000 families is cut the 4Ps administrative expenses from the proposed P5.41 billion to P5.03 billion.

“Specifically, what was reduced was the budget for publicity, from P141 million to P40 million, and the budget for training, from P533 million to P218 million, and the cuts were mainly used to accommodate more 4Ps beneficiaries,“ he said.  

As a result, the cash grant component of the 4Ps budget rose from P57.2 billion to P57.57 billion. If its administrative overhead of P5.03 billion is included, the total budget of 4Ps for the year is P62.2 billion.    

This amount will be used to put 4,461,732 households under the regular 4Ps program.  In addition, 4.3 million high school students will be enrolled in the “extended CCT” program in which each will be given a monthly stipend of  P500.

Recto praised Senate President Franklin Drilon and Senate finance committee head Sen. Francis Escudero for “accepting and defending this and other calamity rehabilitation amendments” which made their way to the 2014 General Appropriations Act.

Other Recto amendments which were consolidated in the 2014 national budget were the creation of the P20 billion Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Fund, the increase of the Calamity Fund from P7.5 billion to P13 billion, and earmarking P20 billion in the Unprogrammed Fund for reconstruction.