ANGARA: LIFTING OIL EVAT WILL DEPLETE SUBSIDY FOR FOOD, ELECTRICITY

Senator Edgardo J. Angara today said that suspending the Expanded Value Added Tax (EVAT) on oil will deplete government resources for food and electricity subsidies, and said that scrapping of EVAT requires a serious study on the part of economic executives since successive oil prices increases are a global phenomenon.

"If you remove the EVAT on oil, government will lose its lifeline for subsidies on rice and electricity. Government is faced with a difficult choice. Hence it should seriously study the effects of repealing the EVAT on oil," he said.

In Japan, the soaring price of food and fuel is top of the agenda at the summit of leaders from G8 nations -- Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia and the United States. G8 nations stressed the need to provide "safety net support" for the most needy, to boost support for food assistance in light of soaring food and fuel prices.

Instead of immediately scrapping EVAT on oil, Angara said the Philippines should seek ways to cushion the country from the impact of the oil price hike by exploring alternative energy sources.

He stressed the need to utilize the country's vast and well-mapped renewable energy sources and encourage local entrepreneurs to go into the development of the country's alternative energy resources in order to decrease our dependence on imported fuel.

"There is a need now more than ever to explore our alternative sources of fuel and energy. Solar, geothermal, hyrdo and wind energy are proven power technologies, for which we have great and untapped potential," he said.

According to the study made by the Renewable Energy Coalition, if the country saves even half of its net oil imports, it can use this amount for social and infrastructure programs such as: sending 17 million children to elementary school, building 250,000 classrooms, putting up 135,000 health centers, feeding 14 million families, and building 38,000 farm-to-market roads.