Angara ready to face criticism over backing tax package

October 17, 2018

Admitting that lawmakers made mistakes in "many provisions", Senator Sonny Angara said he is ready to face widespread criticism from supporting the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) law as he seeks re-election in the 2019 elections. Speaking to reporters after filing his certificate of candidacy (COC), Angara said “I’m sure the TRAIN law will be an issue in 2019. That will definitely be talked about along with its pros and cons. We cannot avoid that.” Angara admitted lawmakers made a mistake in some provisions of the TRAIN law, especially on the excise tax on fuel. Angara said this is why lawmakers have written President Rodrigo Duterte to temporarily suspend that provision “There are many provisions there where we made a mistake. Like the assumptions on the prices of gasoline... as we have seen in the last few weeks, they have more than doubled. So that was really a mistake,” said Angara. Angara said he wants voters to better understand the measure. “What we want is the full implementation of the law because there are still provisions of the TRAIN law that have yet to be implemented, such as the unconditional cash transfer for poor families,” said Angara. DMS