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Tuesday, July 25, 2006
Militants issue 'Sona challenge'
CRITICS of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo challenged her as she delivered her State of the Nation Address (Sona) Monday.
The Freedom from Debt Coalition (FDC) challenged the President to lift the value added tax on oil and power "if she really cares about the plight of the poor."
Activities that highlight the real plight of the masses like street protests and "lights off" in various parts of the country were conducted Monday.
FDC president Ana Maria R. Nemenzo said that under the Arroyo administration, the cost of power has almost doubled at P9 per kilowatt hour from P5 per kilowatt hour before she signed the Electric Power Industry Reform Act (Epira) into law in 2001.
The group said that current power rate in the country is the second highest in Asia, third highest industrial electricity rates and seventh highest household electricity rates in the world.
It added that the successive power rate increases were due to the continuous payment for the expensive and onerous contracts with independent power producers; full privatization of state-owned National Power Corporation (Napocor); and the imposition of value-added tax (VAT) on power.
With the imposition of expanded VAT last November 2005 and of additional two percent last February 2006, oil price hiked with an additional P3 per liter while power rates jacked up by an additional P1 per kilowatt hour.
Laban ng Masa spokesperson Wilson Fortaleza meanwhile stressed that because of these policies, the price of diesel soared from P18 per liter in March 2001 to almost P37 per liter at present.
Fortaleza also noted that households consuming 100 per kilowatt hour are now paying more than double in span of three years. Consumers now shell out P900 from only P423 in 2003.
"The P8.50 sardines in 2003, cost about P11 now! The P115 pork before, now its P140. P5 fare before is P7.50 now! All the prices of commodities increased, its all contrary to what Arroyo Gloria promised from 2001 to 2005," Fortaleza said.
"Our people have long been suffering from high prices of basic commodities and services. Mrs. Arroyo did nothing to address this. Worse, she instituted policies that aggravated our people's lowly condition. Just like VAT, she deserves to be removed from our lives," Fortaleza added. (BOT/With press release)
For Bisaya stories from Davao. Click here. (July 25, 2006 issue)
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