MANILA – President Rodrigo Duterte is set to veto a few provisions of the 2018 General Appropriations Act and the tax reform package or TRAIN, both of which he signed into law on Tuesday, December 19.
According to Budget Secretary Ben Diokno, DBM recommended for veto or voiding by the President certain line items, which he, however, declined to identify at the moment.
Duterte signed the 2018 budget act and the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) part 1, calling the act the “greatest Christmas gift” for Filipinos. TRAIN increased the ceiling for income tax exemption, but also imposed higher excise rates on petroleum products, among others, as the government seeks to raise billions for its massive “Build Build Build” infrastructure program.
Diokno said among the GAA items he recommended for veto were those that pertained to “use of income” or those that define the items for which the budget could be used, in order to keep intact the
P3.7-trillion outlay for 2018.
Diokno confirmed that certain provisions of the TRAIN may be vetoed by the President, adding that such veto recommendation emanated from the Department of Finance.
Diokno said the items to be vetoed will be announced either Wednesday or Thursday.
“We have submitted a draft of the veto message to the President and as of today, I have not received yet the veto message,” said Diokno on Wednesday.
“Certainly there will be some vetoed items, although I can’t tell you now because I don’t know which of the veto items I recommended for veto will be actually vetoed by the President.” The same goes for the TRAIN, he added.
For the tax package, “there will be some items that will be vetoed by the President. So let’s just wait; let’s not speculate on what item,” said the DBM chief.
