MANILA, Philippines?The two front-runners in the presidential race struck widely divergent tones when detailing their plans for putting the government?s house in order during Monday?s Philippine Daily Inquirer presidential debate.
Sen. Benigno Aquino III was asked how he would tackle the growing budget deficit given a statement he made earlier that he was opposed to the idea of raising taxes should he be elected president.
?We should target a balanced budget this early,? Aquino said, but at the same time pointed out that ?pump-priming? activities would be needed over the near term due to the long list of people?s needs that the state must address.
Aquino said he was opposed to the idea of raising taxes because tax collectors could not efficiently collect enough taxes that were already mandated by law.
?It is not right to raise taxes [in a situation like this],? he said.
Aquino first revealed his stand against raising taxes during a speech before the Makati Business Club last month. His pronouncement met with enthusiastic support from the business community, but was criticized by Malacańang as being ?unrealistic.?
Aquino?s proposal was later criticized by a fellow presidential aspirant, Sen. Richard Gordon, who said that while all candidates were in favor of a low-tax regime, any promise by anyone to leave tax rates untouched at this point would merely be ?papogi? (grandstanding).
Sen. Manuel Villar, Aquino?s closest rival in opinion surveys, dodged a question about who his top economic advisers would be if ever he was elected president, saying he was not yet ready to reveal their names this early.
Budget deficit
But Villar said that the main problem his administration would tackle was the budget deficit, which could balloon to P350 billion by next year.
?To be able to manage this deficit, we must be able to hit the ground running,? he said.
He added that there were many aspects to the problem that should be tackled simultaneously.
Villar then segued into the aspects of the economy that he would emphasize, particularly infrastructure and agriculture.
?We should do the ?doables,? because the first year [of the new administration] will be very difficult because of the size of the deficit,? he said, while making a pitch for improved collection efficiency.
Villar said he would focus on raising the efficiency ratio of revenue agencies closer to levels achieved during the Ramos administration from 1992 to 1998.
Oligarchs
For his part, administration standard-bearer Gilbert Teodoro promised to promote greater competition in business as one way of further reducing the influence of oligarchs in the local economy.
?It is the only guarantee that your economy will not be controlled by a few with regulatory capture,? Teodoro said.
He made a pitch for ?private incentive? as a means of lifting more Filipinos out of poverty, as opposed to simply redistributing wealth.
Dismantle cartels
The strongest statements about business and economic issues came from Sen. Jamby Madrigal when she was asked why businesspeople should vote for her.
?I don?t [think] the big businessmen would vote for me, especially those who own cartels and monopolies,? she said. ?Because I would really like to dismantle those cartels and monopolies.?
?We will never progress as a country until we dismantle the oligarchies and the cartels,? Madrigal said. ?Ninety percent of the big businessmen are still Marcos people. Justice has not been done.?
She said she would not court the vote of big businessmen. ?I am not accepting contributions from big businessmen,? she added.
