DOF

Sen. Bam: Poor Filipinos are collateral damage of TRAIN and Build-Build-Build

Senator Bam Aquino urged the government to put the welfare of poor Filipinos first, instead of letting them become collateral damage of the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) Law.

”Hindi puwedeng collateral damage ang ating mga kababayan sa hangarin na magkaroon ng maraming tulay at kalsada sa bansa. Habang mahalaga ang infrastructure projects, huwag nating hayaang magdusa ang mahihirap na kababayan natin,” said Sen. Bam, one of four senators who voted against the ratification of the TRAIN Act.

Sen. Bam was reacting to Department of Finance’s claim that funds for free college education and salary hike of uniformed personnel will be affected if the TRAIN Act is suspended.

The senator said the government should balance statistics with the welfare of Filipino families carrying the burden of high prices of goods and services due to the TRAIN Law.

“Ang problema, kapag puro numero ang tinitingnan, nakakalimutan ang mamamayan. Pakinggan naman natin ang hinaing ng mga nasasagasaan ang TRAIN Law,” said Sen. Bam, also the principal sponsor of the free college law in the Senate.

“Napakatindi na ng pag-aray ng ating mga kababayan sa pagtaas ng presyo ng bilihin,” he added.

Sen. Bam said the DOF’s pronouncement was baseless since the government has an unobligated appropriations amounting to P390 billion in the 2017 national budget.

“Malinaw na may pera ang pamahalaan kaya maling sabihin na hindi mapopondohan ang libreng kolehiyo. Huwag ipagkait sa mga estudyante ang libreng kolehiyo,” said Sen. Bam.

Sen. Bam recently filed a measure seeking to suspend the TRAIN Law, particularly the excise tax on fuel, once inflation rate breaches the prescribed “target range.”

In Sen. Bam’s Senate Bill No. 1798, the excise tax on fuel under TRAIN will be suspended when the average inflation rate surpasses the annual inflation target over a three-month period.

During the TRAIN’s deliberation, senators approved Sen. Bam’s amendment to include a safeguard where the implementation of TRAIN Law will be stopped once inflation rate breaches the “target range.”

However, the provision was not included in the bicameral conference committee and the approved version of the measure.

SRN-229: Inquiry, Pre-need Companies

RESOLUTION DIRECTING THE APPROPRIA TE SENATE COMMITTEES TO CONDUCT AN INQUIRY, IN AID OF LEGISLA TION, ON THE EXISTING POLICIES REGARDING THE ESTABLISHMENT AND REGULATION OF PRE-NEED COMPANIES IN ORDER TO MAINTAIN A SOUND AND EFFICIENT INSURANCE SYSTEM

Whereas, it is a declared policy of the State to regulate the establishment of pre-need companies and to place their operation on sound, efficient and stable basis to derive the optimum advantage from them in the mobilization of savings and to prevent and mitigate, as far as practicable, practices prejudicial to public interest and the protection of plan holders;

Whereas, Republic Act No. 9829 otherwise known as the “Pre-need Code of the Philippines” was approved on 03 December 2009, transferring the primary and exclusive supervision and regulation of all pre-need companies to the Insurance Commission;

Whereas, the Department of Finance (DOF) instructed the Insurance Commission to settle within the year all issues related to the conditions of at least thirty (30) distressed pre-need companies, aside from the Prudential Plans, Inc. Further, the pre-need industry must increase its capital base to avoid cases similar to College Assurance Plan (CAP) and Pacific Plans, Inc. according to DOF. To date, the Insurance Commission will undertake a major review of all the pre-need companies that have been placed under conservation, rehabilitation or liquidation;

Whereas, thousands of Filipinos lost their hard-earned money as they had purchased pre-need plans. In the recent collapse of a pre-need company, Prudential Plans, Inc. was supposed to be an insurer in times of financial distress or other difficulties and protector of the plan holders’ interest. Instead, it left the plan holders empty-handed in their time of need;

Whereas, there is a need to review the existing policies of pre-need companies because the public should be provided with adequate information to enable them to make calculated decisions in their personal and business risk management. Though elimination of all the risks,is beyond the industry’s control, it is of public interest that there should be sound governance and effective risk management by insurers;

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, as it is hereby resolved to direct the appropriate Senate Committees to conduct an inquiry, in aid of legislation, on the existing policies regarding the establishment and regulation of pre-need companies in order to maintain a sound and efficient insurance system.
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