“Abolishing the travel tax may benefit some, but if Congress is serious about easing the suffering of the Filipino people, it must look at the biggest burden of all: the 12% VAT. VAT punishes every Filipinos, who are most of the time mothers, trying to stretch wages that already fall far below a livable level.
“It is an insult to every taxpayer that we pay VAT on a can of sardines or a liter of oil, only to watch billions vanish into substandard projects and ‘ghost’ infrastructure. VAT has become a reliable milking cow for the corrupt. Scrapping it is not just an economic necessity—it is a matter of justice.” — Clarice Palce, Gabriela secretary general
