Press Statement Senator Loren Legarda

ON CHA-CHA MOVE

I call for public vigilance against the persistent move by followers and allies of the present administration to amend the Constitution. It is becoming increasingly clear that these pro-administration elements are motivated by the reasons to perpetuate the administration in power.

There can be no other motivation as this move is being made practically on the eve of the May 2010 elections and against the obvious wishes of the majority of our people. Moreover, the time is not auspicious as our people are grappling with the worst economic crisis since World War II. The International Monetary Fund is even scaling down its projected growth for the Philippines from the 2.25 percent it earlier predicted.

The majority of the members of the Senate, as of now, are against charter change before the election. But we cannot discount the immense political and financial power of an administration determined to have its way. We can only therefore count on people's power to thwart this conspiracy against our people.

ON TAXATION

Because of the ongoing economic crisis, our people will not countenance another increase in their tax burden. I myself will not agree to new taxes. The proposal in the House of Representatives to tax texting is anti-people.

But with the bureaus of internal revenue and customs falling short of their revenue target, the National Economic and Development Authority is expecting the budget deficit to grow from P257 billion to P300 billion, a great financial burden that would be passed on to the next generations.

I therefore call upon the administration to press the BIR into tightening up the collection of existing taxes. It should pressure the officials of the two bureaus and other revenue-collecting agencies to strictly collect all taxes due the government or face administrative and other sanctions already provided by law. With the approach of the April 15 income tax payment deadline, it might help if the Department of Finance could announce a position that would discourage the grant of tax amnesties which only encourage tax cheats to perpetrate their illegal schemes.

ON KILLING OF JOURNALISTS

Instead of being on a permanent denial mode on the killing of and assaults on journalists, Malacañang should convict more suspects in these cases.

What Task Force Usig head, Chief Supt. Raul Bacalzo, said on the matter was revealing. He said the task force had filed 26 cases against 55 suspects involved in 31 work-related cases of slain journalists since 2001, but only four have been convicted. Surely four convictions out of 31 cases of slain journalists is not something to boast about.

However, when viewed against the actual number of killings of journalists, the conviction count is even more depressing. According to media circles, around 130 Filipino journalists were killed since the fall of the Marcos dictatorship in 1986. That could mean that journalists are even in greater danger in a supposed democracy than in a dictatorship in the Philippines.

The administration should do more if it does not want to be accused of encouraging impunity in the killing of journalists.