ILOILO CITY: The controversial sin tax bill that finally got the nod of the House of Representatives into law is a pro-poor good measure that will benefit the national capital region and areas outside it.

This was the assessment of Rep. Jerry Treñas, a first-termer in the House by qualifying that Iloilo City will have an additional P100 million from the sin tax in 2013.

As chairman of the ways and means committee and one of the co-authors of the measure in the Lower House, Treñas said that the government will earn over P33 billion from the sin taxes of liquor and cigarettes in the first year to be graduated every year.

The Iloilo lawmaker said that the city still needs to complete various development infrastructures 2013 such as the completion of Buntatala Bridge, widening of Dungon and Ticud bridges, widening and rehabilitation of the coastal road, Tacas road and Molo streets, widening and completion of El 98 and diversion road widening.

In his first term as a representative, Treñas was able to accomplish 10 bills into laws of national and local application. These projects alone need some P960-million to be completed in 2013, Treñas said.

On the other hand, Treñas said that his major accomplishments in his first two years as member of the Congress include the passage of the common carriers tax, expansion of the conditional cash transfer program of the government and several laws of local application.

Laws for the conversion seven city roads into national roads were already passed, so with the conversion of Western Visayas College of Science and Technology into full university status.