ROMULO PUSHES FOR 

INCOME TAX CUTS AND FOI BILL

Pasig Rep. Roman Romulo said, he would continue to push for the passage of the proposed cut in income taxes and the Freedom on Information bill when the House of Representatives resumed its sessions on Tuesday, November 3.

“We cannot give up on the proposed income tax cuts and the FOI. With the national budget already    out of the way, the House can now focus on these measures,” he said.

“Our fixed income workers in government and the private sector need this tax relief. Whatever gains in income they get will surely be funneled back into the economy,” Romulo, an economist and lawyer, pointed out.

The proposed cut in individual income taxe is expected to be passed at the committee level and brought to the plenary before the House adjourns for the Christmas break despite the opposition of the Department of Finance and Bureau of Internal Revenue

On the Freedom of Information bill, Romulo lamented that while President Aquino has certified the FOI as one of his priority bills when he took office, it has languished at the administration-controlled House.

In his 2016 budget message, Aquino called for the passage of the FOI “to ensure the permanency of his transparency policies.”

“This is essentially an anti-corruption and people-empowerment measure. We need this to ensure that no one will be left behind in our forward march to progress,” Romulo said.

House Speaker Feliciano Belmonte and Committee on Public Information chair Jorge Almonte have also expressed their desire to pass the FOI bill before the 16th Congress closes in July 2016.

“Realistically, the window for passing the FOI and other priority bills will effectively close when Congress adjourns for the election campaign on Feb. 5, 2016,” Romulo said.

“Nasa last two minutes na po tayo. We need to do a full-court  pres s kung sa basketbol pa, to win this for our people,” he pointed out./MP