Vendors and sari-sari store owners urged President Benigno Aquino 3rd to veto sin tax law before they are forced into criminality.

Ambulant vendors and other workers belonging to the informal sector rebuked senators on Wednesday for approving a sin tax bill that aims to raise more revenues for the government, but would leave millions of them jobless and unable to benefit a single centavo under the measure.

Over two thousand rallyists trooped to Mendiola Bridge to protest against the sin tax bill, which they said was “worthless” to informal workers who would be unable to tap the safety nets and lump sum allocations provided under the measure because of its stringent requirements.

They called on President Aquino to scrap the sin tax law through his veto powers, to save millions of informal workers who would be forced into a life of crime if their only stable means of livelihood is taken away from them because of “this regressive, anti-poor measure.”

JC Gatungay, chair of Samahan ng Maninida sa Komunidad (SMK), raised the possibility that informal workers such as sidewalk vendors and ambulant cigarette vendors (a.ka. takatak boys) would be forced into criminality after they are rendered jobless by the sin tax law.

“The safety nets and lump sum allocations are satisfactory only for the displaced tobacco farmers while the unemployment insurance isn’t even a welcome provision to the workers because it would mean that they first have to be displaced before they could avail of such a benefit. Sadly, not a single Senator remembered to consider the harsh impact of the bill on us,” Gatungay said.

He pointed out that even the “retooling” provision under the Senate version of the sin tax bill, which is supposedly aimed at helping displaced employees in the alcohol and tobacco industries, won’t benefit informal workers because of age requirements imposed by companies.

“The funds for these safety net provisions under the sin tax bill will only become another large source of graft and corruption in the government,” Gatungay said.
 
Final changes
Meanwhile, Senators Ralph Recto and Ferdinand Marcos Jr., on Wednesday said that they are willing to serve in the bicameral conference committee which will be assembled to tackle the final changes on the controversial sin tax reform bill.

Recto and Marcos made their respective statements in reaction to manifesto signed by various health organizations asking the legislators to inhibit themselves if ever they were chosen to be part of the Bicam committee.

Recto said he is not applying to be part of the committee but he is willing to do his job if the Senate will choose him to be part of it.

Recto also maintained that health organizations have nothing to fear if he is included in the bicameral body, adding that his main focus is the amendments on provisions concerning health and make sure that the revenues that will be collected from the new tax law will really go health service.

Marcos said nobody has asked him to inhibit from the panel and he will just wait for the decision of the chamber if he will be included.

Marcos and Recto both raised hesitation over the proposed tax rates on the substitute version of the sin tax bill introduced by Sen. Franklin Drilon.

Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile for his part doesn’t see anything wrong with the inclusion of Recto and Marcos in the bicameral panel, and would even suggest to the members of the Senate to include the two.