September 2, 2005

KILL E-VAT, NOT THE IMPEACHMENT!

The Tongtongan Ti Umili-Cordillera Peoples Alliance condemns the administration's maneuvers to kill the impeachment proceedings in Congress and decry the Supreme Court's decision to uphold the constitutionality of the Expanded Value Added Tax (E-VAT).

We are enraged by the evident bias of the House Justice Committee for Mrs. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo (GMA). The walkout of the opposition lawmakers on Tuesday was a symbolic act to declare their fury on the scripted hearings of the committee, which is composed mainly of pro-administration legislators. Who will think otherwise when the committee acted in haste and in partiality for the administration? Their decisions and actions aimed at railroading the impeachment were:
1. That the Lozano complaint barred a subsequent complaint by Atty. Jose Lopez and the amended complaint filed by the opposition
2. Upholding the sufficiency in form of the Lozano complaint with 50(affirmative) -4 (negative) -1 (abstention) votes; and
3. That the Lozano complaint was not sufficient in substance after all.

With this development, GMA is again denying the people the truth. When she was being pushed against the wall with the 'gloriagate' scandal, GMA declared "I deserve due process". Various sectors in the society have given the President a chance in the hope that they can still bank on the impeachment process to know the truth and put this crisis behind us. However, this hope has been dashed by the maneuvers of GMA and her allies inside and outside of Congress to kill the impeachment.

Even before the impeachment process heated up in Congress, the administration's tactics to sway the decision of the legislators in GMA's favor were everywhere. There is the disbursement of the Road User's Tax, the alleged appointment of legislators' relatives to juicy government positions, the alleged pay-off and the conscious but subtle consolidation of GMA of her provincial allies. Information reached TTU-CPA that GMA was here in Baguio yesterday to meet with her allies (who knows if there are envelopes again?) before going to Kiangan, Ifugao.

As added insult to injury, the Supreme Court ruled yesterday that the Expanded Value Added Tax (E-VAT) is constitutional in its entirety. The Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) issued by the SC on July 1, 2005 is also being lifted 'upon finality'. The TRO was issued because anti-EVAT petitioners questioned the constitutionality of the E-VAT which will allow the president to raise the VAT rate from 10% to 12%. The contention here is that the power to tax belongs to Congress and not to the Executive branch.

We are dismayed that even the highest court in the land has come under the influence of the President. For in spite of the deepening economic crisis brought about by record-high oil prices, in spite of the highest unemployment and underemployment rates, in spite of deprioritization of basic social services and other economic problems, we will still be burdened by the E-VAT. This is all in the name of collecting higher revenues, not really for social services as claimed by GMA's apologists, but for servicing debts from which the Filipino people have not really benefited..

E-VAT will increase gasoline prices by P3.00. Napocor estimates that consumers will have to pay an initial P0.203 per kilowatt-hour generation charge, which will increases in succeeding months. The effect on energy and oil prices will definitely increase production costs and will push the prices of other commodities and services even higher.

The killing of the impeachment and the SC decision on E-VAT are manifestations that the economic and political crises that we are into will continue to deteriorate. In fact, it is worsening at a very fast pace, and unless we collectively act on these grave concerns, there will be no relief from the deepening political divisions and unjust economic impositions that weigh heavily upon us.

Since the impeachment is now dead for all intents and purposes, the challenge for us is to bring the trial of GMA to the streets, mass-up in protests against E-VAT and other economic issues and stage another People Power. After her ouster, we can forward our pro-people demands to a caretaker/transition council - which will have the task to unite the country, take immediate steps to relieve us from economic distress and prepare for a credible election. #

Reference:

Chie Galvez
Tongtongan Ti Umili: (63) (74) 442-2115, (63) (74) 304-4239