Thursday, February 21, 2008 'Cancel Church's tax privileges'
MANILA–House Speaker Prospero Nograles is “exploring the idea” of revoking tax privileges of the Catholic Church and other religious organizations that engage in politics.
Nograles, an ally of embattled President Arroyo, issued the statement shortly after the call by the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) for a “new brand of people power.”
In other developments on the brewing political scandal over allegations of widespread corruption in government”
-- Malacañang said yesterday that another people power is unlikely to happen despite the bishops’ calls for it.
-- A former CBCP official said the interfaith prayer rally scheduled on Feb. 29 is open to everybody.
“In other countries like America, I am informed that once the church enters the political arena, they are stripped of their tax privileges but here in the Philippines, this is not the case. I do not know of any precedent here. Maybe it’s worth studying by our political scientists,” Nograles said yesterday.
The church and all the institutions it runs such as schools and broadcast stations are all free of taxes.
CBCP president and Jaro Archbishop Angel Lagdameo’s call for another people power was made amid growing calls for President Arroyo’s resignation over the controversy surrounding the US$329 national broadband network (NBN) deal with China’s ZTE Corp.
Nograles, however, clarified that he was merely exploring the idea of taxing the church and not advocating it.
He also stressed that he is a “devout” Catholic but said the principle of separation of church and state must always be respected.
Parañaque Rep. Roilo Golez said any move to scrap the tax privileges of religious institutions, even if it targets those that engage in politics, “is an assault on the principle of separation of church and state enshrined in the Constitution.”
Threat
“It is a veiled threat on all religious organizations especially considering the vagueness of what constitutes ‘politics’, the meaning and interpretation of which can be subject to abuse and capriciousness,” he said. “Will endorsing a candidate be considered engaging in politics? What about commenting on Charter change? What about allowing a priest to run for office?”
Former CBCP president and Lingayen Archbishop Oscar Cruz, meanwhile, invited people to join next week’s prayer rally since it focuses on the bishops’ call for communal action against corruption.
The rally will be held at the Luneta grandstand. He said politicians are also invited to join but only as participants.
“Their (politicians) involvement will solely be as participants, it’s a prayer rally and not for something else,” he said.
Silent
In Cebu City, at least 60 students of the University of San Carlos-Main staged a “silent protest” over the NBN controversy.
The students also called for the resignation of President Arroyo.
According to professor Judy Aguilar of the Department of Sociology and Anthropology, they are seeking the resignation of people who are perpetuating “untruths.” Among them, she said, is President Arroyo.
During the protest, members of the Student Christian Movement of the Philippines (SCMP) also distributed to other students their statement on the issue.
“Immorality and deceit are present in the current system. Service now is not for the glory of God but for the bureaucrats’ acquisition of wealth,” the statement said.
“The Arroyos’ extreme love for money and wealth is the root of all kinds of evil, which the struggling Filipinos are experiencing. Instead of giving free education to the Filipino youth, the present regime neglected its responsibility to do so and rather focuses itself on useless projects,” they said. (Sunnex/NRC)
