Friday, July 11, 2008 Arroyo, bishops fail to tackle e-VAT, oil deregulation law
THE meeting between President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and some members of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) last Wednesday failed to discuss topics concerning economic policies in particular the call of the bishops to scrap the 12 percent expanded value-added tax (e-VAT) and the oil deregulation law.
Pampanga Archbishop Paciano Aniceto, chairman of the CBCP's Episcopal Commission on Family and Life (ECFL), said the main focus of their dialogue with President Arroyo was the pending anti-life bills in Congress.
"The meeting focused on reproductive health bills. Other economic concerns were not discussed," Aniceto said.
He said Cebu Archbishop Ricardo Cardinal Vidal stood as their leader and presented their concerns to the President.
Aside from Aniceto and Vidal, other bishops that were present during the meeting were Tuguegarao Archbishop Diosdado Talamayan and Bayombong Bishop Ramon Villena.
During the meeting which lasted for an hour, the bishops discussed to President Arroyo, who was accompanied by Health Secretary Francisco Duque III and Albay Representative Edcel Lagman, main author of the reproductive health bills in Congress, their objection to the pending bills.
"They (the President together with Congressman Lagman and Health Secretary Duque), just listened; and the President was also in favor upon the suggestion of Cardinal Vidal to form a group that would manage the dialogue (between the government and the bishops) so that the values that the CBCP wanted to push and what contain in the compendium of the reproductive health bills will be properly discussed by Congress," Aniceto added.
He said the meeting is yet to be scheduled between Congress and the bishops for the continued dialogue.
Jaro Archbishop Angel Lagdameo, president of the CBCP, on the other hand, said that so far they have not received any invitation from the Palace for the possible discussion and dialogue after they called for the scrapping of e-VAT and oil deregulation laws which cause burden on Filipinos especially now that prices of goods, fuel and essential services are all rising.
He admitted that as bishops they are not experts on economic policies, therefore what they can only do is to act as "link" for the people and the government.
"We are not economic planners we are only recipients of the aspirations, desires and the complaints that come from the people. So we become only a kind of link and a kind of voice for the people who are expressing their desire. If there will be a dialogue then we will have to get, also from our part experts in economics because we will not be able to play that. What is happening right now, we just simply voice out the sentiments of the people because they do not feel the effect of this economic policy," Lagdameo explained.
Asked if they would be amenable to the pronouncement of the Department of Finance not to scrap e-VAT but to look into the possibility of lowering it, Lagdameo said: "We only called for the review of e-VAT and in fact if it will only be lessened that's already something. If the VAT will be lessened for some percents that means it is already a response." (MSN/Sunnex)
