THE proposal of Finance Secretary Margarito Teves for the next Congress to raise the value-added tax (VAT) rate from 12 percent to 15 percent drew strong opposition from militant legislators who said that instead of increasing it, the next government should set proper budget priorities and eradicate corruption.
“Eradicating the age-old problem in corruption and setting proper budget priorities are what the next administration should pay attention to in order to solve the country's fiscal problem, instead of increasing the tax and thereby adding burden to the Filipino people.”
This was the statement of Makabayan-Nacionalista senatorial candidate and Gabriela Rep. Liza Maza, hitting the Arroyo administration's low budget prioritization of education in the past fiscal years, as well as the cuts in the budget of the state colleges and universities.
