President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Saturday, July 30, vetoed a bill that would have granted tax exemption to the honoraria, allowances, and other financial benefits of poll workers, and another that would have established a transportation safety board.
In a statement, Press Secretary Trixie Cruz-Angeles said the President vetoed House Bill No. 9652/Senate Bill No. 2520 entitled “An Act Exempting from Income Taxation the Honoraria, Allowances, and Other Financial Benefits of Persons Rendering Service During an Election Period” and House Bill No. 9030/Senate Bill No. 1077 entitled “An Act Establishing the Philippine Transportation Safety Board, Defining Its Powers and Functions, and Appropriating Funds Therefor.”
Marcos said in his letter to Congress that the measure “runs counter” to the Comprehensive Tax Reform Program, and “negates the progressivity of the reforms introduced under the Republic Act No. 10963 or TRAIN Law.”
He also cited the “revenue loss” as being “too substantial an impact to be foregone.”
“While I recognize the laudable intent of Congress to provide income tax exemption for persons rendering service during an election period, the same will be inequitable to other persons performing similar activities and/or services,” the President, who highlighted the importance of better tax collection, said in the letter.
Instead, Marcos added that providing additional support to any sector “is best addressed through targeted budgetary spending rather than through the tax system.”
The Chief Executive also vetoed the bill that would create a Philippine Transportation Safety Board (PTSB) because it “is likely to create functional duplication, confusion as to authority, ineffectiveness, and deficiency in the performance of the responsibilities.”
The PTSB would have ensured the conduct of impartial and thorough investigation of transportation accidents in order to prevent these kinds of accidents from happening again, as well as saving lives and properties.
Marcos noted that the Department of Transportation (DOT), and such agencies like the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory
Board (LTFRB), Land Transportation Office (LTO), Philippine Coast Guard (PCG), Aircraft Accident Investigation and Inquiry Board, and Maritime Industry Authority, as well as the Philippine National Police (PNP) and the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) were already undertaking these functions.
“Considering that one of the primary policies and declared priorities of this Administration is to enhance the government's institutional capacity through optimal and efficient use of resources and strategic rationalization of the functions of government agencies, I am constrained to veto the bill,” the President said, referring to his priority to rightsize government agencies and personnel.