Press Release
September 29, 2008

REVILLA OPPOSES ANEW TEXT TAX

Senator Bong Revilla reiterated anew his strongly opposition against the text taxes, in the wake of the revival of the said proposal.

According to Revilla, there are other ways or sources where the government can get the funds for better health care and education.

Instead, he urged the government to intensify collection of already existing taxes. "The government should strengthen its campaign against smugglers and those underpaying their tax obligations. We could also decrease government spending," Revilla said.

The lawmaker pointed out that the text tax will have a direct hit to the poor and the middle class since they are ones who rely on text messaging not only to communicate to their loved ones and friends but also to transact business, whether they are street vendors or small entrepreneurs.

"It would be good if only the telecom companies will be affected. But we cannot ascertain that. It will only be passed on to the subscribers," Revilla said.

He also cautioned the government against public condemnation once the text tax is implemented.

"The public is already fed up on tax impositions. Whatever the good intentions behind the proposal text tax, millions of our countrymen will disregard because they see it as additional burden," Revilla explained.

It could be recalled that early this year, Revilla had already contradicted the proposal of Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) to slap taxes on SMS messages as a buffer from the oil tax reduction.

Back then he warned the government of depriving the poor of a reliable and affordable means of communication.

Revilla stressed that the proposal would be regarded as anti-poor because text messaging is an inexpensive and popular form of communication in the country.

He also earlier disputed claims that tax on SMS messages will be the answer to the proliferation of text messages containing scams and rumors, especially on destabilization attempts.

"Nowadays, cellphone users are more vigilant against text messages coming from anonymous senders. I also have doubts on the claim that imposing a tax on SMS messages could make Filipinos shift their focus on endeavors that are more productive," he said.

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