SEVERAL youth groups called on Congress to urgently pass significantly higher taxes on alcohol, heated tobacco products and e-cigarettes to help ensure sufficient funding for the Universal Health Care (UHC) program.
The groups urged lawmakers to pass the “sin” tax version principally authored by Sen. Pia S. Cayetano or SB 1074.
Cayetano’s bill represents a component of Package 2 Plus of the Duterte administration’s Comprehensive Tax Reform Program.
In a news conference after a recent forum at the University of Santo Tomas (UST), the Youth for Sin Tax (YST) described sin taxes as “the single most effective way of significantly reducing consumption of sin products among the youth who are sensitive to price increases.”
The National Capital Region (NCR) chapter of the National Federation of Junior Philippine Institute of Accountants (NFJPIA), which has 20,000 members in different colleges in Metro Manila, likewise gave its nod to higher sin taxes.
The NFJPIA pointed out that “alcohol is the leading cause of death for young people,” and that “1 out of 5 e-cigarette users is aged 10-19 years old.”
“We reiterate our support for the Package 2 Plus in its entirety, for this will allow us to make a significant investment in our country’s health, and ultimately, the nation’s long-term development,” an NFJPIA statement said.
The Benilde Central Student Government, meanwhile, expressed support for the reform, more so because additional funding for UHC can “make mental health interventions more accessible.”
The Junior Philippine Economics Society (JPES), the leading national organization of economics students, also called for the immediate passage of SB 1074. “SB 1074 is an advantageous measure insofar as public health and fiscal health are concerned,” the group said in a statement.
The bill is now in the period of plenary interpellation and has been certified as an urgent bill by President Duterte.
Youth for Sin Tax, YAHR, NFJPIA-NCR, and JPES presented their statements to Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III, who acknowledged the youth groups for their support for the tax reform in his speech at the close of the Sulong workshop.
“You, the young Filipinos, are the direct beneficiaries of the sustained growth we seek to achieve through the reforms we now undertake. The future belongs to you. You have the greatest stake in our economy’s success. It will shape your career paths and the quality of your lives. Your voices must be heard,” Dominguez said.
Other youth groups have submitted statements of support on significantly higher excise taxes on alcohol, HTPs, and e-cigs, through their official channels.