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Tuesday, April 12, 2005
Pinoys believe RP still in crisis: survey
MANILA -- Close to half of Filipinos do not believe that government has staved off a fiscal crisis, with the level of disbelief placed at 49 percent, a March 3 to 16 survey of Pulse Asia showed.
A poll of 1,200 respondents showed only 21 percent of Filipinos continue to believe in the current administration's ability to deal with a crisis. Thirty percent were undecided.
President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo said last November that the country was over a fiscal crisis, just over two months after declaring the Philippines was in financial turmoil.
Disbelief was highest in the Visayas (60 percent), where Arroyo gets the most support, followed by Metro Manila (49 percent), Luzon (46 percent), and Mindanao (45 percent).
By socioeconomic classes, Class D expressed the most disagreement, at 51 percent, with Arroyo's statement, followed by Classes A, B and C (49 percent), and Class E (45 percent).
Pulse Asia also found out in its survey that:
* 36 percent of Filipinos were undecided as to whether government has effective programs to address the fiscal and debt crises. Most of the skeptics came from the elite Classes A, B, C crowd (46 percent) and those from Luzon (47 percent).
* 34 percent of Filipinos do not believe that government has effective programs to address the fiscal and debt crises and the most number of skeptics are from the Visayas (41 percent) and Metro Manila (39 percent).
* most Filipinos from the elite Classes A, B, C (36 percent) and in Mindanao (36 percent) believe the so-called fiscal crisis was "just an excuse to get ordinary people to accept higher taxes." Thirty-one percent of Filipinos believe it was indeed a ploy while another 31 percent were undecided.
* 37 percent also do not think that Arroyo and Congress are cooperating effectively to address the fiscal crisis.
Pulse Asia said the respondents' belief that the fiscal crisis is just a bogeyman of the Arroyo administration suggests that "a sizeable number of Filipinos do not even seem to recognize the gravity of the fiscal problem, due in no small measure to the administration's own varying assessment of the problem."
It said this is due to Arroyo's flip-flopping between warning the public about the existence of the fiscal crisis and declaring that it is over.
"The latest survey results thus convey the picture of a public made aware of the problem of the fiscal and debt crisis to some extent, but which harbors serious doubts whether the government is addressing the matter effectively or is considering the people's deepest apprehensions in its plans," it added.
The Pulse Asia survey also showed that 68 percent of Filipinos might support the increase in value-added tax (VAT) from 10 to 12 percent if government corruption and waste are reduced.
The survey showed that Filipinos might also consider supporting the VAT increase if the negative impact on the poor is not too large (42 percent), if government first removes the tax exemptions of favored corporations and sectors (41 percent), if BIR and Customs improve their tax collection (41 percent), and if it's really needed to fix government's fiscal situation and avoid further borrowings (35 percent).
Only 38 percent of respondents said increasing taxes was not justified at present.
But before Malacañang and Congress celebrate, it should note that 66 percent of respondents admitted they have only a little, if not no knowledge at all, of the VAT issue despite the congressional hearings, media coverage, and statements from the administration.
Only 10 percent claimed to have "a great deal of knowledge" about the VAT issue and 25 percent said they have "sufficient amount" of knowledge.
About 54 percent said they have only little knowledge of the VAT issue while 12 percent said they have no knowledge at all.
The lack of knowledge was highest in Class E (73 percent), followed by Luzon (71 percent), Visayas (70 percent), Class D (65 percent), Mindanao (63 percent), Metro Manila (46 percent), and Class A, B, C (45 percent).
Press Secretary Ignacio Bunye, also the presidential spokesman, said government's anti-corruption and austerity measures should guarantee that the funds collected from the additional VAT would be used to put the country's economic house in order and fund pro-poor projects.
"Steps are being taken to improve tax collection and to catch the tax cheats," Bunye said.
He also thanked the Senate leadership for its "strong commitment" to pass the VAT bill. "We must keep this course because it is the only one that will guarantee permanent economic stability and growth," he added.
Senate President Franklin Drilon, meanwhile, said the expanded VAT bill would be approved within the week and he hopes the bicameral conference committee would convene next week to discuss disagreeing provisions of the Senate and House versions of the bill.
"I've been saying that we will pass the VAT this week or at least a week after the resumption of the session," he said.
The Senate is in the period of individual amendments. It failed to pass its version of the bill during the three-day special session last March 30 to April 1.
The Senate proposal retains the 10 percent VAT rate and lifts exemptions while the House proposes an increase of VAT rates from 10 to 12 percent.
The minority bloc in the Senate agreed to support the retention of the 10 percent VAT rate.
Senate Minority Leader Aquilino Pimentel said the minority would oppose a two percent increase in VAT rates because it would be an additional burden to the people. (JMR/JPM)
(April 12, 2005 issue)
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