A signature campaign seeking for the removal of the 12% value added tax (VAT) on petroleum products and power is launched here by militant groups.
Bayan Bohol spearheads the campaign together with its allied organizations from the drivers, women and students sectors.
Effective Saturday, prices of fuel hit over P60 per liter as several bills in the Senate and the House of Representatives on the suspension and removal of VAT on oil and power remain pending.
There are two bills pending at the Senate that seek to suspend or scrap the oil VAT.
Senate Bill (SB) 1962 filed by Senator Mar Roxas proposes to suspend the imposition of the oil VAT for six months. SB 1977 of Senator Miguel Zubiri, on the other hand, offers to exempt petroleum products (as well as electricity) from the tax.
SB 1962 and SB 1977 have been pending at the ways and means committee of the Senate since December 2007. At the House of Representatives, the Gabriela Women's Party (GWP) has filed House Bill (HB) 3442 to cancel the R-VAT while Bayan Muna has also filed a bill calling for the cancellation of the VAT on petroleum products. However, these measures have yet to be scheduled for first reading.
"Everyone is affected, from households to business, everyone is complaining over government's inaction," Bayan Bohol secretary general John Ruiz III said in a press statement.
Removing the value added tax on power and petroleum products will give consumers immediate relief from the rising prices, he said.
Taking off 12% on the current price of premium gas which is sold at P60 per liter would translate to about P7 savings.
Bayan said a stronger stance is necessary from the government considering that the rise in oil prices worldwide is due largely to speculation in commodity futures.
There have been studies saying that as much as 60% of world oil prices come from sheer price speculation.
"Government has a duty to protect its consumers from such an exploitative scheme and should not allow the big oil companies to merely pass on the alleged under-recoveries. Transfer-pricing and the deregulated policy are conditions being exploited by price speculators," Ruiz added.
Bayan believes that it is justifiable to exempt oil and power from VAT as immediate relief of the present crisis and it can be done through a combination of direct action by the people together with pro-people legislation.- Kit Bagaipo, The Bohol Chronicle
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