2020 priorities: Traffic, new tax measures

Committee leaders at the House of Representatives vowed to prioritize the passage of proposed measures to solve the perennial traffic problems in Metro Manila, as well as new tax measures that will generate funds for implementation of government projects.

According to House Transportation Committee Chairperson Edgar Mary Sarmiento, his committee’s priority for 2020 is the creation of a road map to solve traffic, saying that the ultimate goal in the roadmap is to strengthen the mass public transportation system and to reduce the volume of vehicles along EDSA by imposing a centralized, synchronized dispatch system.

Sarmiento earlier announced his pane was conducting series of consultations with stakeholders to be able to draw a sold and viable plan to reduce congestion in Metro Manila.

He added that his committee will also begin tackling bills that would allow motorcycle taxis to be used by the riding public when the session resumes in January and push for the passage of the bill creating a National Transportation Safety Board.

Meantime, the House Committee on Ways and Means Committee – chaired by Albay Rep. Joey Salceda — promised the passage of new tax measures such as the Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators or POGO tax regime, the Motor Vehicle Road Users’ Tax and the Mining Fiscal Regime and the Tax on single-use plastics.

Salceda said the committee will also improve tax administration by studying structural reforms in the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) and the Bureau of Customs (BoC) as they are looking at digitalizing the revenue collection of the agencies to encourage tax compliance and deter tax avoidance.

“As chair of the Committee on Ways and Means, I have three goals that we need to achieve by 2022: A-level credit rating, eight percent GDP growth and widespread prosperity,” said Salceda. “We will work tirelessly to achieve these. All in all, the Committee will definitely continue to be the beating, working heart of Dutertenomics.”

Iligan City Rep. Frederick Siao, chairman of the House Committee on Civil Service and Professional Regulation, also committed to work on pending measures such as the “bills on the professions, contractuals, civil service eligibility and qualifications, necessary leaves and service credits and civil servants efficiency and integrity.”

“Each Technical Working Group will be conducting consultations and hearings in January and February so by March, before the summer recess we can have a batch of bills approved at committee and readied for plenary,” said Siao.