In the Philippines June is anticipated by dreamy-eyed women as the month for weddings. But most Filipinos dread its coming for the typhoons and monsoon rains that it usually brings.
Time and again, the government has been put to test on how it responds to the people’s needs in times of typhoons and the resulting floods, loss of life and destruction of property. There are visible improvements, of course, on how our governments, the present one included, have been responding to the needs of the people during these critical crimes. Clearly, however, much more needs to be done. More important, the assistance extended must be more lasting than the relief goods, such as food, clothing, medicines, among other things, that are distributed to typhoon or flood victims in various relocation or evacuation sites. Thus far, the nature of the help the government has been extending to disaster victims has been temporary; thus far, no long-term relief has ever been implemented by our governments, present or past.
Sen. Manny B. Villar came up with a splendid idea in the aftermath of Typhoon Ondoy. He filed in August 2010 a measure to grant special deduction from taxes of victims of natural calamities, such as typhoons and earthquakes.
Senate Bill 2443, otherwise known as Provision of Relief to Victims of Typhoons or Other Similar Disasters, seeks to help victims of typhoons, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions or other similar disasters by granting them special deductions from income and real-property taxes.
The bill provides that “any person, natural or juridical, whose immovable property was lost, totally or partially destroyed by a typhoon, earthquake, volcanic eruption or similar natural calamities, will be allowed to deduct the total amount of the loss or destruction from his or its income and real-property tax liabilities up to a period of five years from the time of the loss or destruction.”
The bill, however, is still pending with the Senate ways and means committee. In the wake of Typhoon Falcon, which hit the country from June 23 to 25, Senator Villar has urged fellow legislators to pass the billl, considering the grim possibilities that similar disasters could strike the country many more times before the year is over. While the Villar bill would substantially affect fiscal collection, the need to help our kababayan in rebuilding their lives is far more important.
In a recent interview, Villar said that when Ondoy flooded the metropolis and nearby areas in 2009, Marikina City residents got discounted real-property tax rates, and this helped them cope with the destruction brought by the typhoon. With his proposed legislative measure, Senator Villar hopes to have all disaster-stricken Filipinos in the future enjoy the tax relief given Marikina residents in the wake of Ondoy.
To be sure, the general wordings of the bill and its coverage are not so clear-cut and there is danger tax relief sought might be abused by crooked persons. This notwithstanding, it remains undoubtedly promising, and we hope the legislators can improve on it before they give it their final approval, as soon as possible.
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The author is a junior associate of Du-Baladad and Associates Law Offices (BDB Law), a member-firm of World Tax Services (WTS) Alliance.
The article is for general information only and is not intended, nor should be construed, as a substitute for tax, legal or financial advice on any specific matter. Applicability of this article to any actual or particular tax or legal issue should be supported therefore by a professional study or advice. If you have any comments or questions concerning the article, you may e-mail the author at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , or call 403-2001, local 360.
