MANILA, Philippines – Mas magpapalala sa sitwasyon ng bansa ang pag-aalis ng value-added tax (VAT) sa produktong petrolyo, ayon kay House ways and means panel chairperson and Marikina City 2nd District Representative Miro Quimbo.
“When that happens, not only will we lose government revenues. It will also affect our credit rating,” sinabi ni Quimbo sa unang araw ng pagdinig ng komite sa krisis sa langis na isinagawa ng 13-strong House committees na pinangunahan ng House ways and means panel.
“If our credit rating goes down, the first that will take a hit is our ability to repay [our loans],” dagdag ni Quimbo.
Sinabi pa niya na ang mababang credit rating para sa bansa ay magreresulta din sa pagpataw ng mga bangko ng mas mataas na interest rates sa housing loan, car loan, at iba pang personal o business loan.
Sa kaparehong pagdinig, sinabi ni Finance Secretary Frederick Go na ang bansa ay tumatakbo na sa deficit dahil sa 2026 budget na nagkakahalaga ng P6.8 trilyon, ito ay higit na sa total tax revenues na P4.4 trilyon at non-tax revenues na P400 bilyon.
“Our total revenues is P4.8 trillion. Our total expenses is P6.8 trillion. We have a P2 trillion deficit that the Bureau of Treasury will have to fund. If there are certain taxes or certain subsidies that Congress would like to give and certain taxes that Congress would like to remove… I think that we will of course defer to your wisdom,” ani Go.
“We just have to be cognizant, Mr. Chair, that if we want to continue funding the government, its operations, its programs, and its projects, especially those in education, health, agriculture, infrastructure, peace and order, etcetera. We would have to find replacement sources of revenue to fund those expenditures,” dagdag pa niya.
Trabaho aniya ng pamahalaan na kumolekta ng mga buwis at mangutang para tugunan ang financial gaps.
“We have to borrow the gap to fund the planned expenditure also approved by Congress. So every time we remove something, which is of course very possible, we just have to find a replacement source of revenue,” dagdag ni Go. RNT/JGC
