After the sun goes out
Year 2012 is now almost out the door. Was it an undiluted “Annus Horribilis” or “Year of Horror”?
Year 2012 is now almost out the door. Was it an undiluted “Annus Horribilis” or “Year of Horror”?
President Benigno Aquino III has vetoed the provision in the sin tax reform law mandating manufacturers and sellers of tobacco products to buy at least 15 percent of their raw materials from local sources.
Reduction of tobacco and alcohol consumption leads to better health outcomes.
“Today, we signed, finally—I repeat, finally—a law that will serve as an early Christmas gift for millions of Filipinos,” President Aquino on Thursday said after he affixed his signature to Republic Act No. 10351 (An Act Restructuring the Excise Tax on Alcohol and Tobacco) in Malacañang.
President Benigno Aquino III signed the Sin Tax reform bill into law Thursday, saying it was an early Christmas gift for Filipinos.
Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile on Monday said his being upset with Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago had nothing to do with the reproductive health (RH) bill.
If President Aquino were involved in the plot to oust him in connection with the reproductive health (RH) and sin tax measures, Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile said Sunday he would respect the President’s decision.
The contentious reproductive health (RH) bill is taking its toll on personal relationships in the Senate, and the ill feelings may result in the ouster of Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile early next year.
Beware the Ilocano vote—not just in the so-called Solid North but all over the country. Sen. Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Friday warned reelectionist senators who ratified the sin tax bill of a backlash from voters not only from northern Luzon but from their relatives and friends scattered all over the country.
Malacañang on Wednesday expressed surprise at the close Senate vote on the “sin tax” bill, even issuing a warning to reelectionist senators that the electorate will remember how they voted in next May’s elections.
The two chambers of Congress will ratify the reconciled version of the sin tax bill today after yesterday’s face-off between senators and representatives that centered on whether they would make good on their promise to dedicate the incremental revenue from tobacco and alcohol products to health-related government expenditures.
The bicameral conference committee on the sin tax reform bill reconvened on Monday to further iron out conflicting provisions of the measure.
Senators and House members have agreed on a first-year incremental revenue target from higher tax rates for cigarettes and alcoholic products amounting to P33.96 billion for 2013, Sen. Franklin Drilon told reporters in a news conference on Friday afternoon.
