MANILA – Voting 10-9, the Senate ratified last night the bicameral conference committee report on the proposed measure on Sin Tax Reform Bill which aims to collect P33.96 billion incremental revenue for the government’s universal health care program.

Sen. Franklin Drilon said the report has been "the product of the hard work and dedication of all members of the panel from both houses of Congress" as well as the valuable assistance of their technical staff.

It took Drilon, chairperson of the Senate panel to the bicameral body and sponsor of the bill in the Senate, over two hours to explain to his colleagues the bicameral report which was signed on Tuesday morning.

Those who voted in favor of the bicam report include Drilon and Senators Edgardo Angara, Pia Cayetano, Miriam Defensor-Santiago, Panfilo Lacson, Sergio Osmena III, Francis Pangilinan, Aquilino Pimentel III, Lito Lapid and Antonio Trillanes IV.

On the other hand, those who voted against the adoption of the report were Senate president Juan Ponce Enrile, Senate president pro-tempore Jinggoy Estrada, Senate majority leader Vicente Sotto III and Senators Francis Escudero, Ferdinand Marcos Jr., Ralph Recto, Gregorio Honasan II, Ramon Revilla Jr., and Joker Arroyo.

Arroyo questioned the Senate panel over its failure to defend the Senate version which recommended P39.5 billion incremental revenue and 60-40 burden sharing between cigarette and alcohol industries.

Recto said the bicam report favored the imported over locally-produced products.

“It is clear that under this proposed bill, taxes on imported products would go down while taxes on local ones would go up. This covers both the cigarets and alcohols,” Recto said.

Recto and Lacson expressed fears that the provision which allocated 20 percent of the revenue to district and municipal hospitals would lead to abuses of some local government officials.

Enrile echoed Recto’s observation that the government is allegedly favoring the foreign over the local products in the imposition of excise taxes.

Under the bicam final version of the bill, the government is expected to generate P33.96 billion in additional revenues, in its first year of implementation in 2013.

”Of the amount, P23.4 billion will come from increased taxes on tobacco, while P10.56 billion will be generated from taxes on fermented liquor and distilled spirits depending on its historical burden sharing,” Drilon said.

Drilon said that the final burden sharing between tobacco and alcohol products for 2013 will be 69 percent for tobacco and 31 percent for alcohol.

“It was a give and take situation and we came up with a compromise of approximately of 69-31 percent instead of 60-40 in the Senate and 87-31 on the part of the House,” Drilon said.

Drilon said the copy of the bicam report will be forwarded to Malacanang within this week hopefully for President Benigno Aquino's signing before Congress adjourns for the Christmas break next week.*PNA

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