A militant lawmaker on Saturday appealed to the House leadership to prioritize the passage of a measure which repeals the ‘anti-people” provisions of the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) Law.
Anakpawis Party-list Rep. Ariel Casilao said House leaders would be able to prove to be the true representatives of the Filipino people if they acted on House Bill 7653 filed by the Makabayan Bloc. Casilao was one of the co-authors.
HB 7653 proposes to strike out the new add-on taxes on prices on basic products, including oil and sweetened products.
It also wants to restore the exemption of electricity sales and low-cost housing from Value Added Tax.
“Oil price hike which is the nth of this year had already jacked up the prices of fuel products to unprecedented heights. Since the implementation of the TRAIN Law, oil companies and the government are having a blast in increasing the prices,” he said.
Casilao also assailed the continuing implementation of the Oil Deregulation Law.
This, he said, has been the main weapon of oil companies in justifying price increases of their products. “Under the law, the government has no control over pricing, even regulating oil prices. Meaning, the public is held hostage of (sic) oil companies,” Casilao said.
He said petroleum products were widely used for electricity and transportation as well as for producing and processing a wide array of goods and services.