ILOILO City – Local small entrepreneurs fear the proposed new taxes on junk food and raising existing ones for sweetened beverages would further reduce their already meager income.
The 64-year-old Eddie Laisac said: “Ang mga tawo nga pigado na daan ipton pa. Waay na gid, patay na gid ang tawo nga pigado. Ang pigado ma-pigado na gid lang, ang manggaranon ma-manggaron na gid lang.”
He resides in Barangay Zamora-Melliza, City Proper and has been a vendor for over 25 years.
Also a stroke patient, Laisac could no longer do physically intensive labor, and selling junk food and snacks outside the school in the barangay has been his family’s main source of income.
“Amo ni palangitan-an ko kay indi na ako makabiyahe kag obra kay nakaagi ako stroke. Paano na lang ako abi kay senior pa ko daan? Si misis indi naman makaobra kay may deperensya ang iya mata,” said Laisac.
An additional tax on junk food and sweetened beverages would mean extra cost, which students — his main customers with about P10 to P20 daily allowance — cannot afford.
“Kon magtaas sila taasan mo man imo (price). Ti, mahina ang baklanay, waay na, gutom na ang Pilipinas,” he added.
For Laisac, the government should lower the tax on junk food and sweetened beverages instead for the poor to earn a living.
As a sari-sari vendor, Rochelle Bama feared losing customers because of the pricier junk food.
“Paano na bi ang tag-P20 nga noodles? I-baligya mo sang tag-P30, makabakal pa na ang bata? Mabug-at na ina sa ila ya. Siempre ang balon lang nila P30 lang, tapos buhinan pa sang plete, ano na lang na karon?” said the 38-year-old resident of Barangay Monica, City Proper.
Bama added she would be okay with the proposed tax changes as long as they receive government aid to augment income.
“Okay man lang na tani kon pasakaan nila bala kon may ginahatag man sila nga ayuda,” she said, adding her income could barely provide for her children’s school allowance on top of daily household expenses.
Vendor Apple May Maghari of City Proper shared the same sentiment.
“Mabuhinan na gid ang amon gamay nga income. Daw indi ka na gani makakaon sa isa ka adlaw tapos daku-on pa gid nila ang tax, puro tax na lang kan-on ta eh,” Maghari said, who only profits P1 to P2 per piece of food she sells.
The Marcos administration is reviving a plan to tax junk food and increase those for sweetened drinks, citing that the goal is to address health issues, especially among children, and generate additional revenues for the government.
Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno said this was a “proactive measure to address diabetes, obesity and non-communicable diseases related to poor diet.”
Under the proposal, a tax of P10 per 100 grams or P10 per 100 milliliters would be imposed on prepackaged food products that lack nutritional value.
Meanwhile, the increased tax for sweetened beverages under Republic Act No. 10963, otherwise known as the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) Act, will be raised to P12 per liter, or double the current level, regardless of the type of sweetener used in these consumer goods.
Regulate content instead of tax increase
For his part, Iloilo’s Gov. Arthur Defensor Jr. suggested regulating the contents of junk food, such as salt, sugar or fat, instead of imposing a higher tax.
“Kon i-tax mo na sia it’s a source of revenue [for the government], but increases the price of commodities. The better thing to do is to regulate the salt content, indi bala? Impose an excise tax on chocolate because of high sugar, impose a tax on French fries because of high cholesterol,” Defensor commented on the new tax on junk food and the increase in tax on sweetened beverages.
There should be a much heavier reason to impose additional tax, he added./PN
