SPEAKER Pantaleon Alvarez on Monday asked President Rodrigo Duterte’s economic managers to reexamine the state policy exempting religious organizations from paying taxes to the government.
Alvarez, secretary-general of the ruling Partido Demokratikong Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan, said it was about time all business endeavors of religious organizations, especially their educational and media institutions, be taxed.
“Religious schools do not cater for the poor. They are notorious in imposing tuition increases. They are not nonstock, nonprofit, they have profitable businesses. In fact, they are expanding,” Alvarez told the House committee on ways and means hearing on Monday.
The committee, chaired by Quirino Rep. Dakila Cua, conducted the hearing on Malacañang’s comprehensive tax reform package with seven Cabinet secretaries President Rodrigo Duterte led by France Secretary Carlos Dominguez in attendance, asking Congress to support the administration bill.
Dominguez said the tax exemption granted to religious institutions is provided in the Constitution.
Meanwhile, Alvarez said House leaders who would be absent or would abstain from voting for the passage of the Palace-backed death penalty bill on third and final reading on Wednesday would be plucked out of their posts.
But Alvarez said the House leaders, including deputy speakers whose position does not jibe with that of the House leadership and the administration, may opt to stay with the majority bloc.
“Those who will be absent or abstain will be included,” Alvarez told reporters on Monday, even as he maintained that the House leadership’s policy to sanction its allies who would not toe the line stood.
House Majority Leader and Ilocos Norte Rep. Rodolfo Fariñas said the House Bill 4727 would be put to a vote on third and final reading today.
The present 17th Congress is composed of 14 deputy speakers and 67 committee chairpersons belonging to Alvarez’s super majority coalition.
Alvarez also defended the decision of the House leadership to limit to drug-related cases heinous crimes to be punishable by death under the penalty bill that was principally authored by Alvarez.
“The version we approved was not watered down. We just came up with a version that will be acceptable to all and so we can easily pass since the bill is controversial,” Alvarez said.
Dominguez, responding to Alvarez, said “the general rule is religious institutions are exempted, [the exemption is] in the Constitution, Sir.”
This prompted Alvarez to say he would file a bill amending the existing policy on tax exemptions for religious organizations.
“I think it is high time to impose taxes on them,” Alvarez stressed.
Their income from educational institutions, aside from the rentals of spaces, I think those are taxable income,” Alvarez stressed.
Alvarez said the constitutional provision for the religious groups to declare their business ventures as a nonstock and nonprofit organization was “unfair to other schools” not run by the Church.
Alvarez also asked Internal Revenue Commissioner Caesar Dulay Jr. to submit the Income Tax Returns filed by religious institutions in the last three years to determine if they were paying the right taxes.
Cua, for his part, ordered the BIR to heed the request of Congress, through Alvarez.
On the death penalty, Alvarez said the decision of the majority in the Lower House to restrict the imposition of capital punishment to drug-related crimes was meant to expedite the passage of the bill seeking the revival of death penalty.
Alvarez said the House version of the measure was “realistic” as this was in line with President Duterte’s campaign on war on drugs.
This developed as Alvarez said the House leadership would just file a separate bill reinstating death penalty for plunder and rape after President Duterte took note of the crimes included in the House version of the death penalty bill.
“That was the consensus during the majority caucus on the measure next week — to file a separate bill on that – so as not to prolong the debates. We will prioritize the bill against illegal drugs, and the rest will follow,” Alvarez said.
While Alvarez is confident of the passage of the death penalty bill in the House, he refused to speculate on the chances of the passage of a counterpart proposal in the Senate.
Earlier, Senate President Aquilino Pimentel III predicted a “close fight” would ensue in the Senate on the death penalty bill.
However, Alvarez remains confident that under the leadership of Pimentel the Senate would be able to pass its version of the bill, hopefully before Congress tackles the budget for 2018.
Anti-death penalty lawmakers led by Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman said the third reading of the death penalty bill was more than a mere formality.
“As Representatives personally cast their votes on nominal voting, it would be a day of revelation for Members of the House on either side as well as for Speaker Alvarez,” Lagman said.
Lagman said the roll call vote or nominal voting would reveal the identities of those with courage and will to defy the House leadership’s agenda for the final passage of the bill and those who might have succumbed to intimidation and pressures from House leaders.
“For Speaker Alvarez, it would be the time for him to make good his threat to strip defying Members of their committee chairmanships and deputy speaker positions,” Lagman said.
“Speaker Alvarez has no alternative but to consummate his planned reprisal, otherwise no one will believe him when he wields again the Sword of Damocles in the plenary consideration of other administration measures,” Lagman added.