News Roundup 30 June 2021
Jun 30, 2021 • 3 min Read
Philippines ends June with 4,509 new COVID-19 infections | PHILSTAR.COM – Local health authorities on Wednesday reported 4,509 more COVID-19 infections, bringing the national caseload to 1,412,599.
- Active cases: 48,469 or 3.4% of the total
- Recoveries: 5,839, pushing total to 1,339,248
- Deaths: 105, bringing total to 24,662
‘Final nail in coffin’: BIR urged to halt tax rate hike on private schools | PHILSTAR.COM – Senators on Wednesday sought for the suspension of a policy that would hike private schools’ tax rate to 25% while they hear a measure to amend a part of the country’s revenue code. The Bureau of Internal Revenue’s RR 5-2021 has come under fire from groups and lawmakers who warned that it may lead to more school closures and loss of jobs amid the COVID-19 pandemic. It would raise private schools’ income corporate tax rate by 15%, despite the CREATE law slashing schools’ tax to just 1% in the next three years as a relief. “The opening of a new school year is already approaching that’s why the call to temporarily suspend the revenue regulation is urgent,” said Sen. Risa Hontiveros in Filipino, during a hearing of the chamber’s Committee on Ways and Means. Members of the panel began deliberations for Sen. Sonny Angara’s Senate Bill 2272. It seeks to amend Section 27 (B) of the national revenue code to qualify both non-profit and proprietary schools in availing the tax cut under CREATE. Angara, who chairs the committee on finance, described the RR as the “final nail in the coffin” for private schools who had to deal with adjustments from the K-12 program, and loss of students due to the free tuition law in college. He said many senators have already expressed intention to co-author the bill, including Senate President Pro Tempore Ralph Recto and Majority Leader Juan Miguel Zubiri. In the hearing, Finance Asec. Dakila Napao said they support the proposed measure, too. That led to Minority Leader Franklin Drilon asking why they would not recall the RR if they are for the bill, whose filing stemmed from the policy. “I think it is natural to assume that schools will pass [the burden] to students,” Drilon said, as he also stressed urgency. “They’re already suffering from the pandemic and now there’s the interpretation that would increase their taxes. Napao did not give a direct answer on calls to put on hold the RR’s implementation. He said he would consult higher ups in the DOF and was given a week by senators to return with a response.
PDP-Laban members just waiting for party to ‘implode’ – Koko Pimentel | INQUIRER.NET – Some quarters in the ruling PDP-Laban are just waiting for it to “implode,” Sen. Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III warned on Tuesday as the rift widened between the party chair, President Rodrigo Duterte, and its acting president, Sen. Manny Pacquiao. In a Viber message, Pimentel, the former party president, said the faction led by Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi should name the “real/authentic/genuine party members” instead of catering to those “whose ‘heart/loyalty’ belongs to some other existing political party.” He said the latter members were “just waiting for and wanting PDP-Laban to implode and after the 2022 elections will just wave ‘bye bye’ to the party.” The implosion appears to be imminent, with Duterte telling Pacquiao that he would campaign against the boxing champ in the 2022 elections if he should fail to prove his claim of government corruption.
1Sambayan: Arming civilians vs crime shows Duterte administration’s failure | Manila Bulletin – Arming civilians in the government’s anti-crime drive could legitimize “vigilantes and private armies” and it’s a “reincarnation of the Davao Death Squad,” opposition coalition 1Sambayan said on Wednesday, June 30. In a statement, the pro-democracy group criticized the idea of President Duterte to allow civilian group and anti-crime volunteers to carry firearms to help police fight crimes. “The initiative of the President to arm civians is dangerous. It reveals the failure of his administration to fight criminality, on top of EJK (extrajudicial killings) and the recent killings of unarmed civilians,” 1Sambayan said. “Is this group any different from the private armies of warlords?,” the opposition coalition asked.
