Govt control on prices of commodities urged

MANILA, Philippines - Militants want the government to set up price-control mechanism for basic commodities to protect workers and consumers amid mounting unemployment and underemployment. The Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan) said the measure should be coupled with the removal of "unjust and burdensome" tax measures such as value-added tax (VAT) on oil and power. "The least the government can do for displaced workers is to lessen the burdens they face. This should mean government controlling the prices of basic commodities and utilities, and removal of the VAT on oil and power. These measures stand to directly benefit millions of poor Filipinos," said Bayan secretary general Renato Reyes Jr., in an article on the Bayan website. Reyes scored government for its "short-sighted response" that only shows state’s refusal to recognize the gravity and the roots of the crisis. He stressed that consumers, especially workers, demand that they be prioritized and be given adequate protection from the crisis. The group noted that there are increases in the prices of gasoline as well as plans to raise power and water rates. Bayan said removing the VAT on oil and power should go hand in hand with suspending debt payments. It added the VAT collections are intended primarily for foreign creditors, more than anything else. "In a time of severe crisis, we should prioritize domestic needs over foreign debt servicing. The national government can do more than the P50-billion reduction in debt servicing. Removing debt servicing lessens the pressure to collect more taxes from the people and frees up government resources which can be used for social services," Reyes said. Bayan also pushed government support for local industries so that they may help generate jobs for Filipino workers. "The government has to put the brakes on unbridled liberalization and instead support local business. The Filipino enterprises must be protected and allowed to expand so that they can generate more jobs. The myth of the supremacy of the export-oriented and foreign investment-dependent economy is now being shattered by the widespread displacement of workers," Reyes said. "If the neo-liberal model has been proven a failure here and abroad, then government must embark on a new path that would foster national industrialization oriented towards creating new jobs and serving domestic needs," he added. Bayan also criticized the worn-out "labor export policy" of the government which it considers as an important thrust in solving domestic unemployment. "Exporting Filipinos abroad is not a viable long-term solution, especially with the world going into a recession," Reyes said. - GMANews.TV