SENATORIAL candidate Juan Ponce Enrile said he will be the fiscalizer in the Senate and its minority leader once he wins his bid.
The 94-year-old former senator said he wants to bring up the issues of the country that have not been given attention by the current Senate.
“If the people will vote for me as they did in the past elections, I want to be a minority floor leader, to be a fiscalizer, and continue my consumer advocacy,” Enrile said in a press conference at Waterfront Cebu City Hotel and Casino.
Among the issues he will bring to the Senate is the amendment or revocation of the Energy Power Industry Reform Act (Epira) which has caused a heavy burden to consumers.
He said he will continue his unfinished business of investigating the “disappearing load” and make telecommunications companies accountable.
He added that he authored the provision of the Comprehensive Tax Reform Law of 1997, exempting from payment of capital gains or tax the sale of a family home if the sale is for the purpose of acquiring a new family home.
Enrile said the provision benefits the low- and middle-income families who can only afford to build or buy a family home by selling what they presently own.
For example, two brothers with families who live in an inherited house in downtown Cebu City, want to sell their property so they can buy two separate houses in another barangay with cheaper price.
Enrile said it is sad to note that while there are rich Filipino people, they chose to invest in other countries instead of doing business in the country to create jobs.
“I would like to reverse the system. I am advocating opening this country to foreign capital. Let this country be a haven for foreign capital to solve the poverty problem,” Enrile said. (EOB)