Solon hits ‘condescending’ Aquino for killing income tax cut bill

A minority solon scored President Benigno Aquino III for being “insensitive” and “condescending” due to his lack of support for the income tax cut bill.

In a press conference Wednesday, 1-BAP party-list representative Silvestre Bello III said he is disappointed with the President and criticized him even though the party-list solon is close to Aquino’s mother, the late former president Corazon Aquino.

“This is the first time that I am opening up an opposition to the position of the President because I have always been very, very lenient to him because of my closeness or out of my closeness to his mother. This is the first time that I am going to oppose him dahil mali,” Bello said.

“It is showing insensitivity and even to the point of condescension. Hindi niya iniisip iyong paghihirap ng taong bayan,” he added.

Bello made the reaction after Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. declared the income tax cut bill dead in the 16th Congress because of the lack of support from the President.

“If he’s against it, you better spend time your time on something that will get approved than on something that will not get approved just to prove a point. The fact that it’s also discussed to a certain extent, it’s there on the record, people will pick it up in the next Congress for sure,” Belmonte said on Tuesday.

READ: No use pushing for income tax cut without Aquino support–Belmonte | Lowering income tax rate not possible in 16th Congress – Belmonte

Bello dared his colleagues to overturn Aquino’s veto of the bill in case Congress is able to pass the bill and transmit it to the president.

Under the 1987 Constitution, both Houses of Congress may overturn a president’s veto of a bill in a separate two thirds vote.

This means should Aquino veto the bill in a situation where Congress passes the bill, the 287-strong chamber may overturn the veto with 191 members’ support.

“I think Congress should really show its sincerity and its conviction and come up with that bill, and if the President will veto it, then we can get back to him by overriding him,” Bello said.

“We have to show our teeth. We are becoming the rubberstamp of the Office of the President. Nagiging extension office na tayo… We have to show him that we are the voice of the people and the voice of the people is very clear. Ayaw nila ng mataas na buwis,” he added.

‘Easier said than done’

For his part, Majority Floor Leader Neptali Gonzales II ruled out the possibility of the chamber overturning a president’s veto by a two-thirds vote.

He said a two-thirds vote is difficult to achieve, especially in light of the difficulty to achieve a quorum, which hounded the passage of significant bills in Congress, such as the Resolution of Both Houses 1 or the economic charter change bill, and even the proposed Bangsamoro basic law.

Gonzales said based on his experience, Congress has not voted to overturn a president’s veto of a bill because of the difficulty to achieve the required vote. He said both the House and Senate need to come out with two thirds vote separately.

“It’s very easy to say na any bill that has been vetoed by the President can be overriden by Congress. It’s easier said than done. In my experience as a member of the House, wala pang na-veto ang Presidente na na-override ng Kongreso because it will require 2/3 vote of all the members of both Houses of Congress,” Gonzales said.

“At the rate we’re going, I’m not confident… I’m not even confident that we can have a quorum everyday. The more reason [there’s a] difficulty of getting a vote of two thirds,” he added.

Gonzales said he does not think his colleagues would even dare to question the president’s veto and put Aquino in a bad light.

“Siyempre may political consideration din dyan. Would members of the House place the President under a very awkward position na parang nag-awayan na ang Congress with the executive towards the end of the presidency of President PNoy? I don’t think that will happen,” Gonzales said.

The bid to lower income tax rate was opposed by President Aquino for fears that it might result in revenue loss and it might dampen credit ratings. He also said the benefits of lower income tax might be offset by an increase in value added tax which might be imposed to offset losses in tax.

Aquino had recently branded the income tax cut as a “pogi bill” being espoused by some solons despite its impact in the government revenue stream. Even his anointed one, Liberal Party standard bearer Mar Roxas, said those pushing for lower income tax is only after the “papogi” points from the voters in the middle class who would benefit from the bill.

READ: Tax issue shouldn’t be used to gain ‘pogi’ points, says Roxas

RELATED STORIES

Lawmakers, finance officials clash over push for lower income tax, says Belmonte

18 business, labor groups push tax reform

Higher tax exemption cap on bonuses now a law

Ordinary workers pay bulk of income tax collection, says lawmaker