News
TRAIN still inflationary with lifting of fuel excise suspension
November 30, 2018
Research group IBON said that government’s continued implementation of the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) means that TRAIN’s taxes will keep raising prices next year and make inflation higher than it should be. The group said that lifting the fuel excise tax suspension shows the Duterte administration’s insincerity and insensitivity in addressing the […]
TRAIN-1B tax amnesty worsens PH tax inequities
November 27, 2018
The Duterte administration is set to make the country’s tax system even more regressive and inequitable with the looming passage into law of Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) Package 1B which is yet another tax amnesty package for the rich. Research group IBON said that TRAIN-1B rewards tax delinquents for bad behavior and […]
Rice tariffication will displace rice farmers, worsen food insecurity–IBON
November 22, 2018
Rice tariffication and uncontrolled rice imports will displace rice farmers and worsen food insecurity without solving the problem of expensive rice, research group IBON said. The government is using high inflation to justify rice sector liberalization according to long-standing demands of the World Trade Organization (WTO) and big foreign agricultural exporters. Domestic agriculture should be […]
Beware of onerous China ODA – IBON
November 19, 2018
In its eagerness to raise billions of pesos in funds for its hyped infrastructure program, the Duterte administration is brokering questionable deals with China that could threaten Philippine sovereignty. Research group IBON raised the warning in anticipation of Chinese president Xi Jinping’s upcoming visit to the Philippines. IBON said that a number of agreements between […]
Arrest education workers’ rapidly eroding incomes, gov’t urged
November 16, 2018
The salaries of education workers are being battered by unprecedented rising prices, research group IBON said. The paltry increases, which even came in trickles under Executive Order 201, have already been eroded since they were applied in 2016, said the group. In a media forum, IBON executive editor and research head Rosario Bella Guzman said […]
Econ slowdown due to failed govt policies, may be sign of worse to come–IBON
November 10, 2018
Research group IBON said that the government should take the economy’s 3rd quarter growth slowdown as showing what needs to be improved in its economic policies instead of being dismissive about it. Its flagship Build, Build, Build will only be a short-term boost to the economy at best and direct measures to strengthen domestic agriculture […]
Be bold enough to implement a meaningful wage hike, gov’t told
November 7, 2018
The new National Capital Region (NCR) minimum wage is still way below the amount that a family needs to cope with continuously rising prices, research group IBON said. The paltry increase reflects government’s refusal to institute a meaningful wage hike despite its urgency and doability. Government should instead have ordered employers to give a substantial […]
Lowest-income households have lost as much as Php6,800 to high inflation
November 6, 2018
The incomes of the country’s poorest households have eroded after ten months of accelerating inflation. Research group IBON estimates that the poorest 60 million Filipinos have suffered income losses of anywhere from Php2,500 to as much as Php6,800 because of worsening inflation since the start of 2018. The inflation rate has increased from 3.4% in […]
Stubbornly high inflation increases risk of econ slowdown, unmanageable debt–IBON
November 6, 2018
Research group IBON said that the apparently uncontrollable inflation is fast becoming a flashpoint of the administration’s economic mismanagement. High inflation is combining with rising interest rates, slowing remittances and failing exports to dampen economic growth. The administration is desperate for a short-term infrastructure stimulus to compensate for these, said the group, but a major growth slowdown […]
