NO TO HIGHER GOVERNMENT FEES, ROXAS SAYS

Senator Mar Roxas called on the President's economic managers to present a clear-cut plan to the public on how the administration intends to sustain its fiscal program despite shortfalls in tax and other revenue collections.

He expressed alarm that revenue shortfalls are now driving fiscal policy rather than the other way around leading to potentially bigger burdens on the people. "There is this business principle that makes sense especially for government: Never give up the long-term."

Roxas, chairman of the Senate committees on economic affairs and trade and commerce in the 13th Congress, said the people should not be made to pay more in government fees due to shortfalls in fees and tax collections.

He also called on the boards of government finance institutions and corporations to ensure that their respective constituencies and members are consulted before public shares and assets under their supervision are privatized. "Sell these assets as part of a bigger investment program, not as a shortsighted solution to our fiscal shortfalls," the senator said, adding that the law on lateral attrition and political will to run after big time tax evaders are part of long-term solutions to sustained fiscal growth.

"The mad scramble to keep our fiscal numbers up may jeopardize long-term investments and lead to knee-jerk solutions that are short-sighted and inefficient. In the case of raising government fees, this contradicts the administration's concept of social payback where the EVAT will be used to help the poor," Roxas stressed.

The senator also said that increases in government fees and charges should be matched with visible improvements in how frontline agencies serve the public. "For example, will government now raise the cost of a passport when the waiting time and long queue is still the same?"

Data from the DOF showed that as of January to May, earnings from the combined collections of fees and charges by different government agencies reached only P7.98 billion, much less than the P11.195 billion target set for the first quarter.

According to newspaper reports, the first half target for government fees and charges amounts to P19.975 billion. But to meet this target, the government agencies will need to have collected P11.995 billion in June alone, much larger than the collection for the first five months combined.

Some of the biggest sources of revenues from government fees and charges are: The Land Transportation Office, with income derived from drivers' licenses; the Department of Foreign Affairs which charge passport fees; and the National Bureau of Investigation, which collects fees from the issuance of clearances.

Roxas said the Department of Finance should meet with the heads of these departments and agencies and ask them to remit their collections on time so that quarterly targets can be met.

A study conducted by the National Tax Research Center showed that fees and charges collected by the national government agencies continue to decline. About 75 percent or 101 of 134 government agencies have already revised their fees to comply with Executive Order 197 signed in January of 2000. The order signed by former president Joseph Estrada directed all departments, bureaus, agencies and instrumentalities, including GOCCs, to hike their rates of fees and charges by at least 20%.