Solons call on Duterte to fire ‘incapable’ economic chiefs

President Rodrigo Duterte should let the axe fall on his economic managers for their failure to curb the unremitting spike in inflation rate, which hit a nine-year high of 6.4 percent last month, according to House Minority Leader, Quezon Rep. Danilo Suarez.

“The economic managers of the Duterte administration are not capable of doing what they are tasked to do,” Suarez told a press briefing on Wednesday.

“We ask the [President] to start removing some concerned or involved officials in this inefficiency,” he said.

Deputy Minority Leader and Buhay Rep. Lito Atienza said the government should take a second look at the next phase of the Duterte administration’s tax reform package, which was approved by the House of Representatives on second reading on Tuesday night.

Removal of tax incentives

Atienza noted that local business groups and foreign chambers of commerce had raised opposition to the new tax measure, which will remove the tax incentives of private companies, among others.

“Instead of creating more jobs, the (proposed tax measure) might lead to unemployment,” said the party-list lawmaker.

For Anakpawis Rep. Ariel Casilao, the country’s worsening economic condition was proof that the President’s economic managers were “big liars who should not be trusted by the people” for pushing for the passage of the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) Act.

“They do not feel the difficulties caused by TRAIN law because they live in palaces,” Casilao said.

‘Big liars’

“When they proposed the passage of TRAIN, they claimed they can control the inflation rate. Were they able to do that? They are really big liars,” he added.

Ifugao Rep. Teddy Baguilat said the “incompetence and insensitivity” of the Duterte administration exacerbated the problem on rice shortage, rising oil prices and the escalating inflation.

“Instead of devoting its energy to finding dubious jurisprudence and concocting strategies to arrest critics and stifle opposition, the government should instead focus on measures to arrest runaway inflation,” Baguilat said.

“And this administration seems insensitive to this as it concentrates on fomenting more political turmoil, which in turn leads to more speculation and uncertainty in the economy,” he said.