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Bishop raises tax scare vs reproductive health bill


MANILA, Philippines — A Roman Catholic bishop on Saturday warned that the reproductive health bill being pushed in Congress could lead to new taxes just to finance the program. The Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) said Antipolo auxiliary bishop Francisco de Leon expressed fears that even taxpayers who are against the proposed measure will be forced to foot the bill. "The people can no longer afford more taxes," De Leon said in an article on the CBCP website (www.cbcpnews.com. "I recall during my college days when they introduced entertainment tax from every moviegoer to finance flood control programs, yet the floods remained," he said. He said that even if government improves its collection strategies it would still be short of target due to graft and corruption. He also appealed to lawmakers to think of the country's future, saying Singapore is having a hard time to increase its population growth rate after their successful birth control program some decades ago. He said the Philippines stands to gain from Singapore because most of their workers today come from other countries most of whom come from the Philippines. "I appeal to them to think of the country's future," he said. Roman Catholic bishops are opposed to the proposed reproductive health legislation, saying it encourages the use of contraceptives such as condoms and pills. GMANews.TV
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