The passing of a universal basic income law would be the first order of business for former Ilocos Sur governor Chavit Singson if he wins in the senatorial elections next year.
(Photo from Luis Chavit Singson Facebook page)
During the Quezon City media forum on Saturday, Oct. 19, the former governor said that augmenting the income of minimum wage earners aged 18 years old and above is the first measure he would propose.
“Alam mo iyong kung ano iyong universal basic income? Sa ibang bansa ginagawa na, ang tawag ko diyan, Chavit 500 dahil lahat ng may suweldo na minimum pero magkakaroon ng 500 pesos monthly hanggang sa mamatay sila (Do you know what’s a universal basic income? In other countries, that’s already being done, I call it Chavit 500 because those earning minimum wage will have P500 monthly until they die),” he told reporters.
“Eighteen years old ang ating kababayan, hanggang tumanda sila, 500 iyong ibibigay (Eighteen years old Filipinos until they are old, they will receive P500),” he added.
Singson explained that this would be open to all Filipinos, regardless if they are voters or not.
He said government has sources for this, pointing to large companies that have not been paying their taxes in the country.
“Iyong pinanggagalingan, marami akong pagkukunan niyan. Maraming hindi nagbabayad ng taxes dito sa ating bansa, iyong Netflix, iyong mga Orion, singilin natin lahat iyan, diyan natin ilalagay (As for the source, there are a lot of them. A lot of companies don’t pay taxes here—Netflix, Orion, let’s make them pay, we’ll put the revenue there [universal basic income]),” he added.
Touting his experience in local governance, the former provincial governor said he still has many plans lined up in his platform, but stressed that this would be the first thing he does if elected.
He also thumbed down the lawmakers’ preoccupation with dismissed Bamban mayor Alice Guo and said that her case should be investigated by the police and the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), so Congress can focus on making laws.
“So, tutulong ako sa ating mga kapwa senador para gumawa ng batas. Marunong, magagaling na senador; magsama-sama kaming lahat para tumulong sa ating bansa, so, iyon po ang ating plataporma (I will help our co-senators to make laws. Our senators are intelligent and excellent; we can work together to help our country, so that’s our platform),” he said.
Meanwhile, Singson shared that what convinced him to run for Senate was the existing red tape in government.
“Kaya naman ako nakumbinsi na tatakbong senador para mawala ang red tape kagaya ng kuwento ko kanina (I was convinced to run as senator to remove red tape as I told you earlier),” he said, referring to the arduous process of availing of government aid for the jeepney modernization program.
Singson explained that he told President Marcos “I will provide all electric vehicles, electric tricycles, electric motorcycles – no down payment, zero interest, no guarantee for the drivers” to help in the modernization program.
The guarantee of payment for the loans would come from the transport groups and cooperatives, who will have the power to transfer the ownership of the modern jeeps to another if they are not being utilized properly.
“So, alam ng transport group iyan kaya sila na nagsulsol sa akin kaya ito ibibitin ko kapag natalo ako. So, doon lang ang focus ko lang para mawala ang red tape at lalong makakatulong (The transport groups are aware of that so they pushed me to run, so I’ll come back for them if I lose. So, that’s my focus, to remove red tape and help more),” he furthered.