Casiño calls for lower VAT, subsidies for LPG and diesel

With oil companies again hiking LPG prices big time, party list representative Teddy Casiño (Bayan Muna) once again called on the government to mitigate the price shock by reducing the value added tax on oil from 12% to 6% or use the Malamapaya funds to subsidize LPG and diesel.

Oil companies Petron and Total imposed a P6 per kilogram (VAT exclusive) increase in LPG prices yesterday. Other oil companies are scheduled to hike their prices today.

"In many countries like the United Kingdom they charge a lower VAT on electricity and oil for household use. This is a form of indirect subsidy that we can very well adopt in the Philippines, instead of a uniform 12% VAT on all products," said Casiño.

"In the last hearing of the budget of the Department of Energy, Secretary Rene Almendras admitted that our neighbors in Asia as well as other countries normally subsidize their energy and oil sectors just to keep prices low. If they do it, why shouldn't we?" said the lawmaker.

Other than an indirect subsidy, he said government can also use the more than P43 billion that the government profited for 2011 from the Malampaya funds for direct subsidies for LPG and diesel products.

"Kailangan talagang tutukan na ng gobyerno ang mga pagtaas na ito at pumasok na sa pagbibigay ng subsidiya dahil di na kakayanin ng mamamayan ang dagdag. We have been imposing a 12% VAT on oil and petroleum products since 2005 and its time we give our people a break," he stressed.

He called on the House leadership to immediately take up his House Bill 6416 which aims to reduce VAT to 6 percent for electricity, water services and oil and petroleum products in order to provide immediate relief to consumers and the domestic economy. 

The 50% cut in the VAT rate will bring down prices of oil products by at least three (3) pesos per liter, electricity rates by at least 38 centavos per kilowatt hour (kWh) for lifeline electricity users.

Breaking News: Hal David, Oscar- and Grammy-Winning Songwriter, Is Dead at 91

Hal David, Oscar- and Grammy-Winning Songwriter, Is Dead at 91

Hal David, the songwriter who in the 1960s and '70s gave pop-music vernacular the questions "What's it all about?," "What's new, pussycat?" and "Do you know the way to San Jose?" died Saturday in a Los Angeles hospital. He was 91.

The cause was a stroke, according to his wife, Eunice.

‘Let’s hit 1-M target’: Group urges OFWs and networks to intensify OAV registration efforts

As the on-going overseas Absentee voters (OAV) registration will be ending by end of October 2012, barely a month from now, a Filipino migrant' rights group in the Middle East urges anew its members and networks to intensify its OAV information dissemination campaign so that at least it could reach a total of 1-M absentee voters among Filipinos abroad.

"We have asked anew our chapters and networks abroad especially in countries where there are large concentrations of Filipinos to launch our sort of last-ditch effort OAV information dissemination campaign," said John Leonard Monterona, Migrante-Middle East (M-ME) regional coordinator.

Monterona said aside from massive dissemination of information about the on-going OAV and urging Filipinos abroad to register as absentee voters by using the internet and social networking sites as medium, their group would use the traditional way of reaching the most numbers of OFWs.

"We, Migrante officers, members, and OFW networks, from now up to end of OAV registration period, will to go to OFWs tambayans and OFWs accommodations to urge our fellow OFWs to register and explain to them the importance of exercising one's right of suffrage," Monterona added.

Monterona explained given the huge numbers of Filipinos abroad, including OFWs and immigrants, estimated to reached about twelve to 15-M, 'we still believe that Filipinos abroad as absentee voters could be a potent swing vote that could win a nationally elected position such as President, Vice-president, and Senators.'

"We are also expecting that come May 2013 elections, a genuine representation of OFWs in Philippine Congress via party-list system of elections will come true hoping that the OAV turnouts will be huge," Monterona averred.

On Sunday, the Department of Foreign Affairs-Overseas Absentee Voting Secretariat (DFA-OAVS) in a statement said, 'as of 31 August 2012, the total number of new registrants in the ongoing overseas absentee voting (OAV) registration exercise has already surpassed the figures in the 2010 National Elections, at 249,391 new OAV registrants.

Adding the new OAV registrants to those who have listed up during 2010 elections will reach to a total of 839,221 OAV registrants.

"Barely less than 200,000 more to reach the original COMELEC-DFA-OAVS target of 1-M overseas absentee voters and we still have a month of registration," Monterona noted.

Monterona added that with OFWs and their organizations, all together disseminating information and urging fellow OFWs to register, then reaching the 1-M OAV target is not farfetched.

"Our OAV information dissemination efforts will continue until end of OAV registration period, but will shift our efforts on educating our fellow OFWs on their right to vote. Voters' education is needed to have a mature and wise electorate who will be voting qualified and capable candidates during periodic elections," Monterona concluded.

  

Villagers Return Home

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