President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is not on a “veto spree” after he rejected five bills that were supposed to lapse into laws since he took over as the country’s chief executive last June 30, Press Secretary Trixie Cruz-Angeles said on Wednesday, Aug. 3.
She insisted that 41 bills have already lapsed into law, while only five were vetoed by the President.
“Bukod pa dito, gusto ko lang linawin ‘no. Hindi po nagkaroon ng veto spree ang ating Pangulo (Aside from this, I just want to clarify. Our President did not have a veto spree,” she said during a press briefing.
“So it’s not a spree,” Cruz-Angeles added.
Since his inauguration, the President has vetoed these five bills: the creation of the Bulacan Airport City Special Economic Zone, the expansion of the franchise area of Davao Light and Power Company Inc., the strengthening of the Office of the Government Corporate Counsel (OGCC), the creation of the Transportation Safety Board, and the granting of tax exemptions to the allowances, honoraria, and other benefits of poll workers.
Marcos instead is simply fine-tuning the laws into existing systems, especially about tax breaks and benefits.
Comments that the Chief Executive is on a veto spree came after he vetoed a bill that would have granted tax exemption to the allowances and honoraria given to poll workers, who were mostly public school teachers.
Cruz-Angeles explained that instead of tax exemptions, the President wants to provide ayuda or aid to government employees rendering election-related duties.
“Now, iyong pag-veto ng Presidente (the veto by the president) is a matter of good housekeeping,” she explained as groups criticized Marcos for vetoing the bill that would have given them tax relief.
This was done to stay true to the reforms in the tax system wherein benefits and exemptions given to other groups were removed to give way to better tax collection and management where the ayuda or aid could come from.
Approving of the law that would have granted the tax exemption to the poll workers was like going back to the old tax system that already caused too much confusion, the press secretary added.
“So, iyon lang po iyon. Hindi po natin po tinatanggalan ng benepisyo ang mga poll workers natin. Ang ginagawa po natin ay inaayos iyong sistema (that is all. We are not removing the benefits of our poll workers. What we are doing is fixing the system) without discounting the possibility na puwede pa rin silang bigyan ng ayuda (that they could be given aid),” Cruz-Angeles said.