ADVERTISEMENT
Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider Escudero tells gov't: Don't burden Filipinos with new, higher taxes

Escudero tells gov't: Don't burden Filipinos with new, higher taxes

Published Feb 23, 2022 12:42 pm

Senatorial aspirant and Sorsogon Governor Francis "Chiz" Escudero on Wednesday urged the government not to resort to imposing new taxes to pay for the Philippines’ burgeoning debts.

Escudero, a former Senate finance committee chief, made the call in light of the Department of Finance's (DoF) proposal, saying while the government needs higher revenues, raising or imposing new taxes is ill-timed as many Filipinos are still reeling from the impact of the pandemic.

"Filipinos are only just beginning to regain their health and livelihoods—will the government make recovery harder for us than it already is?” Escudero said, in a statement.

“Hindi pa nga tayo nakakatayo, ibabaon na naman ba natin ang ating sarili sa mga bagong bayarin (We haven't recovered yet, but are we going to allow ourselves into deeper debt through new taxes)?” he pointed out.

The DOF, earlier, said it is studying the imposition of new taxes; removal of all exemptions to the 12% value-added tax (VAT) payment; and an increase in excise taxes on cigarettes, alcoholic drinks, and sugar beverages as a means to raise revenue for debt payments.

This, after the Philippines ended 2021 with an outstanding debt of P11.73-trillion or a 19.7 percent increase from 2020.

This translates to a 60.5 percent ratio of public debt to gross domestic product, representing a 16-year high.

“Kailangan natin magbayad ng utang pero huwag naman natin kuhain sa mga seniors, PWDs, mga naghihingalong exporters at iba pang mga VAT-exempt ang pambayad ng utang ng gobyerno (We need to pay off debts but let's not get it from our seniors, persons with disabilities, struggling exporters and from other VAT-exempt sectors)," Escudero said.

"Mag-isip tayo ng paraan para matugunan ang ating responsibilidad ng hindi pinapahirapan ang mga tao (Let's think of other ways to fulfill our responsibility in a way that won't make people suffer),” Escudero said.

Instead of raising taxes, Escudero said the government should consider selling its assets and maximizing public-private partnerships (PPP) to fund infrastructure development.

He noted there are 63 PPP projects in the pipeline now, but this could be expanded by the next administration.

“There are ways to free up fiscal space for debt payments, instead of immediately looking at new taxes. PPP is the way to go," said Escudero who is seeking a Senate comeback in the upcoming May 2022 elections.

"For the long term, the government should exert more effort into eliminating corruption, which is bleeding us P700-billion annually. That’s enough to build 1.4 million housing units,” he further said, citing data from the Deputy Ombudsman.

Related Tags

DOF Chiz Escudero taxes
ADVERTISEMENT
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1561_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1562_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1563_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}

{{ articles_filter_1564_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.mb-article-details { position: relative; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview, .mb-article-details .article-body-summary{ font-size: 17px; line-height: 30px; font-family: "Libre Caslon Text", serif; color: #000; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview iframe , .mb-article-details .article-body-summary iframe{ width: 100%; margin: auto; } .read-more-background { background: linear-gradient(180deg, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0) 13.75%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0.8) 30.79%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000) 72.5%); position: absolute; height: 200px; width: 100%; bottom: 0; display: flex; justify-content: center; align-items: center; padding: 0; } .read-more-background a{ color: #000; } .read-more-btn { padding: 17px 45px; font-family: Inter; font-weight: 700; font-size: 18px; line-height: 16px; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle; border: 1px solid black; background-color: white; } .hidden { display: none; }
function initializeAllSwipers() { // Get all hidden inputs with cms_article_id document.querySelectorAll('[id^="cms_article_id_"]').forEach(function (input) { const cmsArticleId = input.value; const articleSelector = '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .body_images'; const swiperElement = document.querySelector(articleSelector); if (swiperElement && !swiperElement.classList.contains('swiper-initialized')) { new Swiper(articleSelector, { loop: true, pagination: false, navigation: { nextEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-next', prevEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-prev', }, }); } }); } setTimeout(initializeAllSwipers, 3000); const intersectionObserver = new IntersectionObserver( (entries) => { entries.forEach((entry) => { if (entry.isIntersecting) { const newUrl = entry.target.getAttribute("data-url"); if (newUrl) { history.pushState(null, null, newUrl); let article = entry.target; // Extract metadata const author = article.querySelector('.author-section').textContent.replace('By', '').trim(); const section = article.querySelector('.section-info ').textContent.replace(' ', ' '); const title = article.querySelector('.article-title h1').textContent; // Parse URL for Chartbeat path format const parsedUrl = new URL(newUrl, window.location.origin); const cleanUrl = parsedUrl.host + parsedUrl.pathname; // Update Chartbeat configuration if (typeof window._sf_async_config !== 'undefined') { window._sf_async_config.path = cleanUrl; window._sf_async_config.sections = section; window._sf_async_config.authors = author; } // Track virtual page view with Chartbeat if (typeof pSUPERFLY !== 'undefined' && typeof pSUPERFLY.virtualPage === 'function') { try { pSUPERFLY.virtualPage({ path: cleanUrl, title: title, sections: section, authors: author }); } catch (error) { console.error('ping error', error); } } // Optional: Update document title if (title && title !== document.title) { document.title = title; } } } }); }, { threshold: 0.1 } ); function showArticleBody(button) { const article = button.closest("article"); const summary = article.querySelector(".article-body-summary"); const body = article.querySelector(".article-body-preview"); const readMoreSection = article.querySelector(".read-more-background"); // Hide summary and read-more section summary.style.display = "none"; readMoreSection.style.display = "none"; // Show the full article body body.classList.remove("hidden"); } document.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded", () => { let loadCount = 0; // Track how many times articles are loaded const offset = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10]; // Offset values const currentUrl = window.location.pathname.substring(1); let isLoading = false; // Prevent multiple calls if (!currentUrl) { console.log("Current URL is invalid."); return; } const sentinel = document.getElementById("load-more-sentinel"); if (!sentinel) { console.log("Sentinel element not found."); return; } function isSentinelVisible() { const rect = sentinel.getBoundingClientRect(); return ( rect.top < window.innerHeight && rect.bottom >= 0 ); } function onScroll() { if (isLoading) return; if (isSentinelVisible()) { if (loadCount >= offset.length) { console.log("Maximum load attempts reached."); window.removeEventListener("scroll", onScroll); return; } isLoading = true; const currentOffset = offset[loadCount]; window.loadMoreItems().then(() => { let article = document.querySelector('#widget_1690 > div:nth-last-of-type(2) article'); intersectionObserver.observe(article) loadCount++; }).catch(error => { console.error("Error loading more items:", error); }).finally(() => { isLoading = false; }); } } window.addEventListener("scroll", onScroll); });
Join Our Newsletters

Sign up by email to receive news.

© 2025 Manila Bulletin The Nation's Leading Newspaper. All Rights Reserved.