Investing in good governance in the interest of equal opportunity for all

(Speech delivered by Sen. Panfilo M. Lacson during the 8th Annual Convention, Philippine Academy of Anti-Aging Medicine, delivered February 23, 2009 at The Manila Hotel)

Thank you for inviting me to share my experience in public service, almost two years as chief of our national police and seven as a Philippine legislator.

There have been extraordinary strides in health practices during the last fifty years – vaccines, better equipment, we even have the opportunity to reclaim the fountain of youth.

We, who are present in this pavilion, are living in relatively blessed circumstances for outside this place, real problems beset a great number of Filipinos.

Health has become a dominating concern for the millions of Filipinos who, according to the latest World Bank statistics, belong to the world’s poorest.

Bilang pang-apat sa walong magkakapatid, pamilyar na sa akin iyong paghihigpit sinturon. Ang palaging paliwanag ng aking mga magulang na ang sakripisyong iyon ay may katumbas na ginhawa balang araw.

Taliwas po ito sa nangyayari sa ating bansa ngayon. 

Tinitipid tayo maging sa larangan ng pangkalusugan, pero ang natitipid ay nilulustay ng iilan na nangungurakot.

Recently, I have refined my advocacy on fighting corruption to point out its applicability in our daily lives – fighting corruption is about restoring fair play for all. For it is corruption, more than anything else, that distorts the idea of equal opportunity and fair play.

Dahil sa kurakot, nawalan na ng saysay ang Patas na laban, Para sa lahat. 

From my experience, three things comprise a good government: transparency, accountability and equality.

Transparency stands for unbiased and free access to government decisions. This means government shouldn’t resort to dilatory tactics in order to delay scrutiny over suspicious transactions, this includes concocting imaginary stress in order to escape attending a Senate hearing on the latest World Bank mess.

Accountability implies a government being held responsible by the people that elect it. 

It’s simple - corruption exists because we have been resigned to its existence. Like traffic, corruption has defined us as a nation.

Kaya hindi na nga balita na ang isang opisyal ay nangungumisyon sa pagpapagawa ng ating mga kalsada. Ang usapan ngayon ay hindi kung sino, kundi magkano ang nakukurakot sa ating pamahalaan.

Lastly, equality means all of us are treated equally under the law, no exceptions. Sa madaling salita: patas na laban.

Noong araw, hindi importante na mayaman ka o mahirap para umunlad. Kung masipag ka at may angking talino, aasenso ka. Di mo kailangang may kakilala na kung sino sa kung anong ahensya sa gobyerno o magbenta ng karangalan upang umusad at magkaroon ng kinabukasan.

It is obvious that I am cynical about our current government. 

I have always maintained that what has kept us from progressing is a bad government.

But I am also very hopeful about the future.

It is possible to institute the practice of good government.

First, we need leaders with strong morals that are committed to the public good. Second, and more importantly, we need a public that is committed to demanding their rights and will always hold the government accountable to its deeds.

Corruption is a two-way street: walang ko-corrupt, kung walang magpapako-corrupt.

I could stand here and force upon you a long litany of corrupt deals that this government has subjected us to, in fact, I could stand here and recount the recent World Bank controversy and the excuses our own agencies like the DPWH and Ombudsman are using in order to shift the blame to somewhere else. 

But that is just that, talk and if we continue to be unconcerned with the effect of corruption in our country, talking is all we end up with.

But if corruption and all the inequalities it has given birth to have been a source of shame, they are equally a source for optimism.

In a way, it has been a privilege to have come from very humble beginnings because I was not any different from every other kid born of rich parents. 

I was still blessed because, in spite of a poverty-stricken childhood, I had much of a chance as them to make something better of myself.

Certainly, the government that was popular during that time was not perfect and the problems it faced may have been fewer than the ones we faced now.

But that government gave my generation something that is in short supply today – ang Patas na Laban, Para sa Lahat.

It is time that we bring back a level playing field. And there is no better time than now.

And no better place to start than with ourselves.

I am exhorting this particular group before me today because I know you understand the concept of ethics and doing no harm. They are part of your Hippocratic oath, after all.

And often, it is those who are in a position of power, or wealth, or influence who are more responsible for creating opportunities for others.

I would like to leave you with this quote. It is about our responsibilities as citizens and as human beings.

“Nobody can go back and start a new beginning, but anyone can start today and make a new ending.”

Maraming salamat po.

*****

In the Service of Equal Opportunities for All

(Speech by Sen. Panfilo M. Lacson before the Cebu Jaycees, Inc., delivered February 21, during their 61st Chapter Induction and Turnover Ceremonies in Cebu City)

Good evening.

There are three big, commonly repeated lies on earth: When a delinquent American tenant tells his landlord the check is in the mail, when a Japanese lover tells his friends he is more romantic than a Frenchman, and when a Filipino politician tells his audience he is about to deliver a short speech.

Permit me to thank the organizers of the JCI Cebu for making my homecoming possible.

As a former commander of the Cebu Metrodiscom, I always have a vested interest in Cebu and would like to congratulate the Cebuanos for making sure this city remains the Queen City of the South.

While reviewing the origins of the Jaycees, I was struck most by your mission on social responsibility.

For me, social responsibility means that those who are in a position of power, wealth or influence have a greater responsibility to create equal opportunities for others – what I term as, Patas na Laban, Para sa Lahat.

As all of you know, I am a vocal supporter of reforms in our governance.

But I don’t want reform for reform’s sake.

There is an obvious moral bankruptcy in our leaders and policy makers that must be addressed. 

We have leaders of our anti-corruption agencies such as the Ombudsman who would rather wash their hands off the World Bank mess rather than use the powers of their office to ensure investor confidence in our country.

Also, we are once again faced with loads of information that somehow highly placed individuals are involved just as they were involved in scandals like the P728-million fertilizer scam and the ZTE deal.

These are notwithstanding the ongoing corruption being perpetrated by some of our local and national leaders. All of which will take more than my allotted time to discuss.

I must tell you that the road towards sound leadership will be bumpy and protracted at best but it will not be impossible.

Let me share with you my experience.

When I became Chief of the PNP, I inherited an organized system where it was practically every man for his corrupt self. 

From the superiors down to their subordinates, almost everyone in the organization was either perceived or actually tainted with the stench of corruption.

So I cleaned up shop, so to speak, in the only way I knew how, by leading with example. 

My men could not cheat because they saw that I was not cheating.. They refused to accept payolas because they saw that I didn’t.

What the newspapers eventually reported was how corruption was at its lowest and public trust on our police force was at its highest during my term. 

These are success stories, but stories like these do not happen overnight.

They need principles, discipline and leadership to make them happen.

When I became Senator eight years ago, the need to uphold principles, discipline and leadership was equally clear.

There was the pork barrel fund, just another fancy name for corruption that once again favored the few and victimized millions who had to suffer with half-baked even ghost projects.

Since 2002, I have consistently refused my pork barrel allocation and have been actively encouraging my fellow legislators to do the same.

After all, we do not become corrupt through commission but also by omission.

Up till now, I am still trying to lead by example, by demonstrating that public service is an immutable value that cannot be bought and sold like a common commodity.

And this is because I still remember the lessons from my childhood.

Unlike some of the people in this room, I came from very humble beginnings. 

I had seven other siblings and my parents were not working professionals. Yes, my parents were poor but they were honest, hardworking and honorable.

Lacking anything of substance to pass on to their children, my parents scrimped and saved to put all of us to school. 

You see, education was once the passport of the poor for a better life. If you had education and you were in good health, you had all you need to be successful.

But those were kinder times when opportunities were bountiful for anyone who was willing to render hard work.

Ladies and gentlemen, I would not be here before you today if not for the opportunities that the leaders in government during my time offered my parents and me.

I would certainly be not in this position today if the government then did not have the principles, discipline and leadership to be socially responsible and attempt to bridge the gap between rich and poor by investing in quality health and education.

Equal opportunities for all, Patas na Laban Para sa Lahat, this is what this country should be about.

That was the country my parents raised me to believe in.

It is the same country I am sure you want your generation and the next to know.

I understand that servicing the Filipino community is often a frustrating and thankless job. But I would like to share with you a passage I read from a few days ago. It is about change.

It goes like this:

"People can’t live with change if there’s not a changeless core inside them. The key to the ability to change is a changeless sense of who you are, what you are about and what you value."

Thank you very much.

*****

Preserve Senate Independence

The Senate should reassert its independence anew amid fresh efforts to divide it and project it as a Malacañang lackey on the mess involving corrupt and collusive practices marring local infrastructure projects funded by the World Bank.

Senator Panfilo M. Lacson made the call as he reiterated his stand to pursue the leads provided by the World Bank on the pending investigation of bid rigging in a Philippine road building loan. 

“If we injudiciously exonerate or pin the blame on anybody without exhausting all legal means to get to the bottom of this controversy, then we only have ourselves to blame if we are branded as accomplices or subservient to the corrupt powers that be,” Lacson said. 

He said the Senate should not allow itself to be sidetracked by personalities and technicalities that tend to obscure the bigger picture of collusion and corruption in high places in government. 

Lacson lamented last Thursday’s hearing gave the public the impression the Senate was protecting personalities with ties to the Palace from the mess, as it focused on the health of First Gentleman Jose Miguel Arroyo.

He added the issue on the World Bank allegations is the latest issue to test the Senate’s independence, which senators had shown in fighting Palace moves to amend the Constitution through a constituent assembly, and in questioning Malacañang’s bid to cramp Senate investigations with Executive Order 464.

“We should not fall into that malevolent trap wherein we, senators, are pitted against each other while the real villains laugh their way to the banks and into peaceful retirement,” Lacson said.  

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Ping with UP Professors

Senator Panfilo M. Lacson stresses a point before students and professors at the University of the Philippines National College of Public Administration and Governance (NCPAG) in Quezon City. Lacson discussed irregularities in the P1.415-trillion budget for 2009, the double entry in the 2008 budget, and the bribes and collusion that marred projects funded by the World Bank.  Lacson also fielded questions about his political plans for 2010.

Serving Others by Creating Equal Opportunity

(Speech by Sen. Panfilo M. Lacson before the Rotary Club of Manila, delivered February 12, 2009 at the Manila Polo Club, Makati City)

After I accepted your invitation as your guest speaker today courtesy of Mr. Mon Pedrosa, a hearing on the WB mess was subsequently scheduled on this same day. So I requested Rotarian Mon if I could arrive just a little late, 1 p.m., 1:30 p.m., so I would be able to participate and spend more time asking questions in the WB hearing.

What I got from Mon was a big flat ‘No,’ with the threat that if I arrived late, he would be very embarrassed and be left with no option but to resign from the Rotary. I love Rotary, being a Rotarian myself, and I cannot allow Mon, a good Rotarian, to resign from the Rotary. In fact, I am a proud Rotarian. I used to be a very proud Rotarian until Jocjoc Bolante barged into the scene.

When it came time to choosing a service organization, I quickly identified with the Rotary because of its motto: Service above self.

Service above self means that those in a position of power, or wealth, or influence, are responsible for creating opportunities for others.

Service above self means helping create a society of equal opportunity.  In our native language, it is PATAS NA LABAN, PARA SA LAHAT.   Fair play for everyone.

Those of us here gathered inside this exclusive Manila Polo Club, can be considered more blessed and more fortunate than many in the real world outside. 

Let me cite a fact of present-day life:

On February 14, 2006, Raymond Manalo and his brother Reynaldo were abducted by members of the Citizens Armed Forces Geographical Unit (CAFGU). They were beaten, blindfolded, forcibly taken from their farm in Bulacan.

 

Months after their abduction, the brothers were presented to their parents as a means of intimidating them to drop the case they filed against the authorities who kept and tortured their children.

Their living nightmare as victims of involuntary disappearance ended when they successfully escaped to Manila in August of last year. By then, they had endured 18 months of physical suffering, mental anguish, and emotional stress while in detention.

Fortunately, they were granted relief through the landmark writ of amparo.  Raymond, during his long detention, witnessed the plight of other victims of involuntary disappearance, including long-lost Sherlyn Cadapan and Karen Empeño, whose fate to this day, living or lifeless, remains shrouded in mystery. Others like them have disappeared and will continue to disappear, abused by a system presided over by people who have distorted the ideal of service above self, and distorted it to mean service for oneself, at the expense of the many who are poor and powerless. 

Contrast the plight of the Manalo brothers to that of the Alabang boys, whose arrest and subsequent legal wrangling has exposed the underbelly of corruption and bribery that has destroyed our once noble justice system.

Ours is supposed to be a democratic system where protection is promised to all citizens, where justice is for all.  But where is democracy where justice is denied to many, while twisted for some?

Hindi patas ang laban. Ang hustisya ay namimili ng aapihin at kakatigan.

Where justice is up for sale, when fiscals are fixed by conniving lawyers in service of the rich, or where judges look the other way when the accused is powerful, democracy becomes a sham.

Recently, I have defined my advocacy on fighting corruption to reveal its applicability in our daily lives – fighting corruption is about restoring fair play for all.  For it is corruption, more than anything else, that distorts the systems enshrined in a democratic order.  If those of us who have a stake in the system want it to prevail against alien ideologies, we must make certain that it affords equal opportunity and fair play.

Patas na laban, para sa lahat. 

I was born of humble origins. My parents never finished school. Hence their obsession to see all eight of their children finish school. They would often forego their share of the day’s meal in pursuit of that dream.

But despite our poverty, my parents kept faith with government and, most of all, they believed in the goodness of God. To us, they would often say: “May awa ang Diyos, makakaraos din tayo, mga anak.”

I learned from my parents that poverty is a mere accident of birth and success is dependent on your will and abilities.

But my youth in Cavite went through better times.

Government provided basic social services, accessible to all, rich or poor.

Medical care through the public health system, where hospitals had medicines and doctors attended to all.  

From primary to tertiary, I was educated in public schools where we had enough books, enough classrooms, and our teachers were as good as those in the best private schools. 

We could compete.  We had equal opportunity, thanks to government. 

From school or from work, one could walk to the comforts of home safe and sound.  Rare were cases of rape, or killings, or robberies in band.  The policeman was a person of real authority, respected by all, and feared by transgressors.

Modesty aside, when I was Chief of the PNP, I sought to return that respect and that fear of the law, and in a short fourteen months, we in the institution achieved that. 

When basic services like health, education, peace and order can be taken for granted, for certain, by even the lowest in society, then the governors serve above self.  And that is what we ought to recapture.

Government has to weigh in, so that the poor are assured of the basic tools needed to improve their own lives, not by dole-outs, but by equal opportunity.

That is what social justice means.  And social justice is what the institutions of democracy are all about, and what democratic leaders are elected for, in pursuit of their sworn ideals of service above self.

Whatever happened to the ideals of social justice, promised to our people as far back as the days of President Manuel Quezon?  Whatever happened to the Magsaysay dictum that those who have less in life must have more in law?

Presidents have come and gone. Elections have only succeeded in creating great expectations, dashed by greater disappointments.  Disillusionment with the system has set in, dangerously --- into a sense of hopelessness.

Service above self on the part of those who were elected to serve has become a sick joke for those at the receiving end of service most selfish and governance most bad.

In its stead, we have corruption most gross – worse with each passing leadership.  For public servants, elected or appointed, it has become a way of life, but for an exceptional few. The higher the position, the bigger the cost of corruption, while those in lower positions justify their own take because their superiors have become immoderately greedy.

From kotong paid by lowly workers to policemen and traffic aides, to outright bribes given to generals and prosecutors, judges and justices to perpetuate impunity, to commissions and kickbacks given to legislators for their pork barrel, all the way to the top, for huge contracts and monopoly privileges – corruption sucks the lifeblood of our economy, and distorts the principle of equal opportunity.

Little wonder that our infrastructure is substandard, because the tong-pats corrupt the quality of materials and design.  Worse, ghost projects and ghost deliveries have spooked almost every agency of this government, or fake fertilizers with thousand percent commissions, courtesy of Jocjoc and his bosses.  Sad to note that jocjoc is a Rotarian, and his boss, Jess Santos – boss – as well.

Transparency International ranks our country among the most corrupt.  Not only is that a crying shame; it makes us a pariah in the international community.  Investors are wary; capital becomes even more scarce.  And the recent World Bank report blacklisting contractors due to collusion among themselves and with the powerful, is likely the last nail on the coffin of our moribund economy.  

We keep asking ourselves – what must be done? 

We keep thinking of new laws and new rules, new systems even, in our desire to fight corruption.

We keep thinking of new ways to entice investments, to make our economy produce more, and create more jobs for an ever-increasing population.

We keep calling for moral revolution, exhorting all in a crusade for change, forgetting that change must begin with the leaders, that good example is the most powerful agent of change. 

For in reality, the answer lies in what Rotary exhorts us all to do – service above self.  Service that tells us that we who lead - in government, in business, in society, have an obligation to our fellowmen, to provide them with the opportunities to prosper within a democratic polity, and their children to hope for a better future.

And the first step also means choosing among us those who can lead by the power of good and selfless example, with unwavering determination to reform government, discard the politics of compromise and unseemly transaction, and instead enshrine service above self as the cornerstone of democratic governance.

Nothing less will suffice.

As I was about to finish writing this speech, I came across a beautiful passage on my desk calendar, which I thought I should share with you. It is about change. It goes: ‘People can’t live with change if there’s not a changeless core inside them. The key to the ability to change is a changeless sense of who you are, what you are about and what you value.’

Thank you and good day to everyone.

*****

Lacson Bill Gives Tax, Customs Collectors Incentives to Do Job

In a bid to give tax and Customs collectors an added incentive to meet their collection goals, Sen. Panfilo M. Lacson has filed a bill exempting them from the Salary Standardization Law.

Lacson, in filing Senate Bill 3049, said the added incentives for meeting a collection goal should also minimize the chances for graft and corruption.

“There have been clamors that the Bureau of Internal Revenue and Bureau of Customs be removed from its coverage since these two agencies perform vital functions relative to the revenue raising powers of the government. It is envisioned that with the enactment of this measure, graft and corruption would be minimized, if not totally eliminated.  Moreover, said move would be an added impetus for them to perform their duties properly, and hopefully meet their respective target collections,” he said in his bill.

Lacson noted that under a standardized system where salaries are fixed, the temptation is great for tax and Customs collectors to engage in corruption.

Besides, he said Congress has exempted from the coverage of the Salary Standardization Law some government financial institutions (GFIs).

These include the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS),  Social Security System (SSS), Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), Land Bank of the Philippines (LBP), Corporate BCDA, and Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP).

Under the bill, the BIR and BOC are exempted from the coverage of Republic Act No. 6758, which prescribes a revised compensation and position classification system in government.

The Finance Secretary will issue the implementing rules and regulations in consultation with the BIR and BOC Commissioners not later than 90 days after the approval of the bill.

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Speech at the Naga College Foundation

(Speech delivered by Sen. Panfilo M. Lacson on February 6, 2009, in Naga)

Some 45 years ago, I was very much like any one of you. Maybe in a far worse situation. For what would you expect from poor parents having eight children, wanting to send each and everyone of them to school and finish college?

But those were good times. Those were times of good governance. Noong araw patas ang laban ng bawa't mamamayan sa ating bansa. Equal opportunities, rich or poor, provided you have the talent, you have the intelligence, you have the capacity, you have the capability, puwede kang umangat sa iyong kinalalagyan.

Over time, that good governance deteriorated. Even during the time when tri-media was not as efficient as today, people seem to appreciate the transparency in government.

Maybe a few of us will still remember ‘yung panahon nang ang presidente eh si President Quirino, nagkaroon lamang ng isyu about a P5,000 bed in Malacanang, that was a big, big issue of corruption.

Nagkaroon ng isyu about a golden arinola, I wonder if it was really a golden arinola but it was such a big, big issue.

And government was sensitive to respond to the needs of the people. Forty-five years after, what we see is a government that is not transparent, that is insensitive to the needs of the people, a government that does not deliver the necessary social services to our people, a government that steals, a government that abuses. You can describe our present government any way you want, anything but good.

We hear about issues of corruption but nothing much has happened. Yung binanggit kanina na P728-million fertilizer fund scam, we investigated that in the Senate. Maybe some of you were able to see or watch on television and hear over the radio kung ano yung nagtranspire during the investigation.

P728 million in government funds wasted by a few people, P645 million of which went to the deep pockets of corruption and only a less than a hundred went to the farmers needing to fertilize their soil to have better harvest.

P728 million, nilagay sa bote na tig-P150 per bottle, sold at P1,500 at a grossly overpriced amount and then diluted nine parts water, one part fertilizer. 

And do you think something will happen?

It’s still lingering with the Ombudsman, the case has not been filed up to now with the Sandiganbayan. And yet, the case was filed or referred by the Senate that investigated during the chairmanship of Senator Ramon Magsaysay Jr. with the Ombudsman way, way back in 2005.

Now we hear about the World Bank blacklisting issue, there are four foreign firms and three Filipino firms now blacklisted to participate in biddings where it involved World Bank funds.

But, yung DPWH, ang sabi nila, we have our sets of rules, we cannot blacklist these firms simply because our rules say na pag World Bank ang nagblacklist hindi apektado ‘yung bidding ng DPWH. That is insensitivity at its highest.

So how can we correct the ills of corruption kung ang gobyerno mismo is deeply involved in it?

That is why the citizens of this country suffer and suffer much. We see infrastructure projects very quickly deteriorating even with a slight fall of rain. Bakit?

Dahil yung pondo na nakalaan para sa proyekto ninanakaw ng ilang mapagsamntalang opisyales ng gobyerno, ng ilang pulitiko, at bakit ang ating mga pagamutan ay kulang sa doktor, kulang sa gamot, kapag ang mahirap ang nagpunta sa pagamutan, nagkakautang-utang, hindi malaman kung saan pupunta dahil walang perang panggamot at walang maibigay na enough service ang ating gobyerno dahil sa korapsyon.

It is corruption that is killing our country, it is corruption that will continue to kill us unless you and I, students, members of the faculty, citizens of this country join hands in fighting, get united, stop the moral decadence, borrowing the words of Chief Justice Puno, in our society.

Hanggang hindi tayo nagkakaisa, hanggang nakapikit ang ating mga mata at nakatakip ang ating mga tenga sa nangyayaring katiwalian sa ating bansa, I don’t see any solution inside.

In my own little way as a legislator, as an elected senator of this republic, I do my own expose, but that is only one voice. If you can join me, citizens of this country, students of this country in exposing corruption big or small, no matter how petty, sana malayo ang mararating ng ating bansa, kung ang ating mga leaders ay magiging conscious and aware of what they’re doing na hindi nakakaligtas sa pagpansin ng ating mga kababayan, tulad ng ating mga mag-aaral at mga guro dito sa Naga College Foundation.

Marami pang isyu ng corruption na maari nating pag-usapan, subali't ang isyu rito ay kung paano natin ititigil, papaano natin maiiwasan na muling maulit ang mga ito sa mga darating na panahon.

Kapag hindi tayo kumilos bilang mga mamamayan, we will continue to have a government that we deserve, we will have to continue to have the kind of leadership that we deserve.

And so, that is my simple call to all the students, to all who are present here today na sana magsama-sama po tayo in protecting our taxpayers' money against the corrupt practices of some of our leaders.

I’d like to thank the student council for giving me this opportunity to interact with the students of the Naga College Foundation and share my thoughts about what’s in on the national scene, sa Metro Manila. And I will go on and on interacting with people, exposing anomalies, informing our people, because only an informed public, an informed citizenry can act accordingly to stop this scourge that’s happening in our country, which is corruption.

Again, thank you very much and good afternoon to everyone.

*****

Lacson Camp: FG Lawyer's 'Denials' to Trigger Added Evidence

If he repeatedly claims the appointments book linking First Gentleman Jose Miguel Arroyo to a contractor blacklisted by the World Bank is fake, the first gentleman’s lawyer may find himself facing photos, love letters, and other evidence.

Gerry de Belen, media relations chief of Sen. Panfilo M. Lacson, said he may produce the added evidence if Atty. Arroyo’s lawyer Ruy Rondain continues to insist the appointments book is fake.

“Pag iginiit ni Rondain na peke ang appointment book, mapipilitan kaming ilabas ang iba pang mga kasamang dokumento na ibinigay sa amin ni Udong, pati mga litrato at love letters,” de Belen said.

Udong is Eugenio Mahusay Jr., a former aide of the first gentleman who testified on the Jose Pidal accounts in 2003 before he was “rescued” by presidential guards.

Mahusay had given Lacson the appointments book and several other pieces of evidence.  The appointments book showed Atty. Arroyo met with Eduardo de Luna 20 times in 2002 alone.

De Luna was one of the contractors blacklisted by the World Bank for alleged collusive practices for World Bank-funded projects, but is the only one permanently debarred.

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Health Services to Finally Get Overdue Funding from Sin Taxes

After a four-year delay, health services will finally get a much-needed P60-plus-million boost in “sin tax” remittances, after government economic managers agreed to expedite the release of the funds.

Sen. Panfilo M. Lacson, chairman of the Senate ways and means committee, said this means between P30 to 50 million each for the Health Department and the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PHIC).

“The P60 million is just for three years.  The implementation of this funding will expire in January 2010, yet the Health Department has not received its share.  But the P60 million does not include 2009 and 2010, so that could easily be P50 million each for DOH and PHIC.  It’s a big deal for health services,” he said after a hearing on the matter.

At the hearing, representatives from the Department of Finance and Bureau of Internal Revenue agreed to expedite the formulation of implementing rules and regulations for Republic Act 9334.

Earlier, Lacson filed Senate Resolution 826, noting Republic Act 9334, the law on excise taxes on alcohol and tobacco products, had earmarked increased revenues for health services.

Sin tax revenues for PHIC would have gone to the National Health Insurance Program while revenues for the health department will go to a trust fund for the DOH’s disease prevention program.  But Lacson lamented bureaucracy and conflicts in computing the funds due the DOH and PHIC from the “sin taxes” prevented health services from getting overdue funding from the sin taxes.

“Paragraph C, Section 7 of RA 9334 provides that 2.5 percent of the incremental revenues from excise taxes on sin products be allocated each to the PHIC and the DOH,” he said in his resolution.

Yet, he lamented that four years since the law was passed, the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) “had not released a single centavo” to the Health Department.

At the hearing of the committee Tuesday, DOH representatives said they had been preparing to use the funds as early as 2005.  They said the funds would go to items like breastfeeding and prevention of non-communicable diseases.

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Senate Moves to Abolish Documentary Stamp Tax

In a bid to help the stock market regain its competitiveness and cope with the global financial crisis, the Senate adopted Tuesday a motion to abolish the documentary stamp tax.

Sen. Panfilo M. Lacson, chairman of the ways and means committee, said after a hearing on the matter that the documentary stamp tax had been a double tax of sorts on players in the stock market.

“First, the tax was very cumbersome to compute.  Even the Finance Department and Philippine Stock Exchange cannot agree on the amount in terms of foregone revenue.  Second, it made the stock exchange uncompetitive because it was like a second tax on top of the stock transaction tax,” he said.

He said the DOF computation showed government stands to lose some P1.3 billion while the PSE computation showed a loss of P1.09 billion if the documentary stamp tax is removed.

On the other hand, Lacson noted PSE executives at the hearing had said the economy stands to lose much more if investors were turned off because of the taxation.

Lacson said he will prepare a committee report on the matter and bring it to the plenary and have it passed before the Senate goes into recess on March 6.

“The deadline is March 20. So we must pass this bill into law before we go on break on March 6. Otherwise the stock market is in for a losing proposition,” he said.

Earlier, PSE president Francis Lim said the global economic crisis has hit the Philippine stock market hard.

“We are one of worst affected in terms of daily transactions,” he added, noting the stock market’s daily transactions went down by 41% while that in Indonesia went down by less than 1%.

“Unlike other markets that are principally dependent on their locals our market is dependent on foreign portfolio,” he added.

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