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10-Year
Debt Moratorium Will Give Gov’t P3 Trillion
Anti-tax group seeks passage of debt
moratorium bill to avert crisis
The
government can generate PhP3 trillion (U.S.$53.6 bn) in total savings and
avert the looming collapse of the economy if it stops paying the
country’s debts for at least 10 years. This was the main argument raised
by the fisherfolk alliance Pamalakaya in its proposal for Congress to pass
a law on 10-year debt moratorium over the weekend.
By
Gerry Albert Corpuz
Bulatlat
The
government can generate PhP3 trillion (U.S.$53.6 bn) in total savings and
avert the looming collapse of the economy if it stops paying the
country’s debts for at least 10 years. This was the main argument raised
by the fisherfolk alliance Pamalakaya in its proposal for Congress to pass
a law on 10-year debt moratorium over the weekend.
Fernando
Hicap, national chair of Pamalakaya said in a forum: “The 10-year debt
moratorium law if translated to national policy would enable the
government to save at least P 3 trillion pesos in next 10 years. The
savings could be used in mass creation of jobs and opportunities and raise
productivity and standard of living of both urban and rural people
nationwide.”
Hicap
issued the challenge during the launching of the anti-tax coalition
Alliance of Concerned Citizens Opposed to Unjust, New Taxes (Account) held
at the Bulwagang Tandang Sora, College of Social Work and Community
Development, University of the Philippines in Diliman, Quezon City.
Pamalakaya
is set to kick off a legislative campaign this week to convince
legislators about the pet bill seeking a 10-year respite from the
religious practice of debt servicing which has eaten up nearly two-thirds
or 66.66 percent of the national budget.
Hicap’s
group is counting on the support of the militant party list bloc in the
House of Representatives composed of Bayan Muna party list representatives
Satur Ocampo, Teddy Casiño and Joel Virador, Anakpawis party list solons
Crispin Beltran and Rafael Mariano and Liza Maza of Gabriela Women’s
Party.
The
government will peg payment of the country’s debts to one-third or 33
percent of the national budget as reflected in its 2005 proposed national
budget. For next year, the government has set aside P 310.3 billion out of
the P 901 billion total national budget.
But
Pamalakaya said the decision to reduce debt servicing to 33 percent of the
national budget will not make any significant impact in resolving the
present economic and fiscal woes. The best the government can do, the
group said, is to pass a 10-year debt moratorium at the minimum or enact
debt repudiation of all fraudulent loans at the maximum.
“The
debt issue is a political one,” Pamalakaya said. “What the government
need is strong political will, big fighting heart and high sense of
patriotism to a score a major victory for the people and debt-burdened
economy.”
Criminal,
immoral and sometimes moronic
Rep.
Eduardo Zialcita (1st District, Parañaque City) was even more
stinging against the government policy on debt servicing. He said for
every one peso the government shells out for debt payments, 48 centavos go
to interest payment of loans, which he described as fraudulent and
criminal loans.
He
said next year, 58 centavos of every one peso the government allocates for
debt payment will go to payment of interest alone.
“The
government’s debt policy is a criminal act, immoral and sometimes
moronic,” Zialcite said. “Why can’t the government choose life over
debt and if necessary repudiate these anomalous loans. It must be stopped
and the government should pursue accountability of public officials behind
those bad and anomalous debts.”
The
Parañaque congressman, a convenor of Alliance of Legislators Against
Regressive Taxes (Alert), also lambasted the government’s debt policy on
the mothballed Bataan Nuclear Power Plant (BNPP) and cited it as an
example on how the government had wasted taxpayers money.
He
said the government is spending roughly P210 million a month or P2.4
billion a year for interest payment of the controversial nuclear power
plant in Morong, Bataan.
It
would take a lifetime to the BNPP loans unless the government negotiate or
renegotiate the mode of payment in our own people’s terms or better
repudiate payment of outstanding debts, Zialcita said.
Sign
up against tax
Meanwhile,
Renato Reyes, Jr., Account convenor and Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan
or New Patriotic Alliance) secretary general said anti-tax groups
belonging to Account coalition will lead a nationwide signature campaign
against Malacanang’s new tax measures starting this week.
Account,
which is composed of concerned groups, individuals, former government
officials, lawmakers and consumer organizations, expects to gather tens of
thousands of signatures against unjust taxes which will be submitted to
Congress, the Malacañang presidential office and other tax-related
agencies of the government.
Sen.
Aquilino Pimentel Jr leads the cast of Account among the individual
members of the group which include Zialcita, Bayan Muna party list
representatives Casiño and Satur Ocampo; anti-Estrada movement stalwart
Carmen “ Nanay Mameng” Deunida, Vice chair of Anakpawis party list;
former Budget Secretary Salvador Enriquez Jr.; former Bureau of Internal
Revenue commissioner Liwayway Vinzons-Chato, Trixie Concepcion of Txt
Power; labor leader and Kilusang Mayo Uno chair Elmer Labog; and peasant
activist and Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP) secretary general
Danilo Ramos.
“Tax
paying citizens will be involved in this advocacy campaign against unjust
new taxes through petition signing and other forms of protest” Reyes
said. A copy of Account’s statement of unity obtained by Bulatlat
urged the Pres. and Congress not to impose new and additional taxes and
feeds to the people at this time.
Account
said the Macapagal-Arroyo administration should muster the political will
to address the immediate and long-term causes of the country’s fiscal
crisis. He said government revenue collecting agencies should prioritize
the big time evaders, plug the loopholes and tax leakages and eliminate
graft and corruption in their ranks.
“As
much as P400 billion is lost annually due to drastic cuts in import duties
and tariffs and fiscal incentives awarded to foreign investors on top of
VAT and income tax evasion and tax credit scams and leakages prevalent in
the country’s taxation system,” Account added.
Txt
Power reloaded
Fresh
from a major triumph against the proposed tax on text, the group TxtPower
will also spearhead a text campaign against unjust taxes. “We call on
all texters to send their opposition to GMA’s hotline numbers. Please
send ‘TAX ME NOT: NO 2 NEW TAXES to 09198984621, 09198984622 and
09178398462,” the group’s statement said.
The
group’s spokesperson said: “Be it gas tax or other terror taxes, the
people can count on us in opposing new burdens that make life even more
intolerable especially to workers, farmers, the youth and professionals.
President Arroyo is hitting the poor most with these taxes.”
Txt
Power is also supporting the debt moratorium proposal of other militant
groups adding that the government would do some awesome good by declaring
a moratorium on billions of pesos in foreign debt allocations that only go
to payment of onerous and fraudulent debts.
The
group National Network of Agrarian Reform Advocates (Nnara)-Youth Sector
blamed former presidents Fidel Ramos and Joseph Estrada and President
Arroyo over the country’s fiscal mess. The group’s secretary general
Reggie Vallejos said are grossly accountable for the increasing total
debts the country is facing at the moment.
“Ramos,
Estrada and Arroyo should be held accountable for the present financial
crunch and looming economic crash. The three stooges and protégés of
imperialist globalization pushed this country to chronic crisis and economic
catastrophe,” Vallejos said.
Vallejos
said from 1997 to 2003, the government’s total debt rose to P 5.39
trillion or an increase of P2 trillion in six years. He said the
country’s government-owned-and-controlled corporations (GOCCs) accounted
for 37 percent of the two trillion increase in total debts with 43 percent
accounted for by the national government and 19 percent due to
depreciation of peso. Bulatlat
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