By Dominique Gabriel G. Bañaga

Negrenses expressed their opposition to a fresh round of excise taxes recently passed by the House of Representatives, which would levy P10 per liter on sugar-sweetened beverages.
Former Negros Occidental Governor Rafael “Lito” Coscolluela described the measure as “anti-poor” and “counter-productive.”
“The poor will not benefit from reduced income tax rates,” he said, “but they will definitely suffer from price increases in food, transportation, farm inputs… which will be brought about by excise taxes on fuel and sugar- sweetened beverages (like 3-in-1 coffee,softdrinks, powdered drinks).”
He warned of the negative impact on the beverage industry and its dependents, which would, in turn, hit the local sugar industry. “The sugar industry itself will suffer from reduced demand and lower prices,” he explained.
Instead of raising taxes, Coscolluela noted, government should go after tax evaders rather than give them tax amnesty.
But there is hope in the Senate, which seems more inclined to conduct careful deliberations on the proposed tax measures, said the former governor, adding he hopes “they have a better plan.”
The Visayan bloc failed to reduce the excise tax on sugar-sweetened beverages and carbonated drinks using locally produced sugar from P10 per liter to P5, but they were able to double the amount on imported sweeteners in the House-approved comprehensive tax reform package.
Negros Occidental Rep. Alfredo Benitez (3rd District, PDP-Laban) said their request to reduce it to P5 was not granted because the country’s financial managers had a set amount to meet.
However, this will be offset by the inclusion of the provision in the tax reform package that raised the excise tax to P20 per liter on sweetened beverages using imported sweeteners, Benitez said.
“The P20 excise tax per liter for sweetened-beverages using High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS) and other imported sweeteners will at least even the playing field and will make local industry users buy locally produced sugar,” Atty. Emilio Yulo III, spokesman of the Sugar Alliance of the Philippines, said.
“We remain thankful to our legislators who tried their best to come up with a win-win solution to protect the sugar industry, however, we also know it was a numbers game, and with the President himself certifying the bill as urgent, we understand their quandary,” Yulo said.
For his part, Winnie Sancho, secretary general of the General Alliance of Workers Association (GAWA), said the proposed excise taxes will further erode the purchasing power of the workers. He added it would be “another burden to the people.”/WDJ