AMID SLIM CHANCES of recovering hundreds of billions in squandered funds, a business tycoon floated a formula that would somehow appease an angry mob of Filipino taxpayers.
In an interview which appeared on Bilyonaryo News Channel, technology tycoon Dennis Anthony Uy (not the Duterte crony) asked President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to seriously consider the idea of abolishing the 12 percent value-added tax on utility services.
According to Uy, co-founder and chief executive officer of Converge, such an idea would serve as moral reparation over the massive corruption embarking on the government’s flood control project.
Referred to as the flood control scandal, funds intended to address the perennial flooding problem in the country somehow found its way into the pockets of Cabinet secretaries, senators, congressmen, officials of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), contractors — and even the state auditors who are supposed to ensure fraud-free government transactions.
EASIER SAID THAN DONE
As far as the technology magnate is concerned, recovering what has been lost to the massive corruption in the government is easier said than done.
“Wala nang paraan para mabawi lahat ng ninakaw, kahit ibenta pa ang cash, jet, kotse, mansyon at alahas ng mga sangkot,” Uy was quoted by Bilyonaryo in reference to what looks more like an orchestrated plan to siphon limited government resources.
“Ang kaya nating gawin ngayon ay ibalik sa tao ang pera sa pamamagitan ng pag alis ng VAT sa kuryente at internet. Ibalik ang perang ninakaw.”
Uy, who is also a board member of the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry and of the Private Sector Advisory Council for digital infrastructure, said the government has a moral obligation to give something back to taxpayers who have been at the receiving end of corruption.
POWER, WATER, INTERNET
He said the Philippines is an outlier in Southeast Asia because consumers are charged VAT on electricity from generation, to transmission, to distribution, a layering that he claimed can push the tax load on power close to the equivalent of 36% if each stage carries the full 12%.
“Pati nga ‘yung system loss ng power companies, tayo pa ang nagbabayad ng VAT,” Uy said. “Ito ang isang paraan para itama ang iskandalo… ibalik sa tao ang taxes na ninakaw sa bayan.”
He also emphasized that VAT exemption should not be just for power utilities but also for telecom operators, as Uy argued that internet access has become a basic necessity and to water utilities, although Manila Water and Maynilad are already exempt from the 12% VAT under their legislative franchises and instead pay a 2% national franchise tax.
EXPANDING THE PURSE
According to Uy, sparing the Filipinos from VAT would allow taxpayers to expand the power of the purse from the “loose coins” which when saved would spell a difference.
Such a move would also make the government look good as halting the imposition of VAT on essential services would free up cash for households and businesses, support consumption and ease pressure on small and medium enterprises while helping keep prices in check.
Uy argued that now is the best time to cut VAT, as public anger over the unprecedented plunder of government funds is peaking and voters are demanding visible justice rather than long investigations that may never fully recover the money.
FULFILLING PROMISES
Uy said the administration now has a moral obligation to ease the burden on consumers by cutting VAT on power and internet, instead of relying solely on whatever assets can be retrieved from those linked to alleged DPWH scams.
Proposals to cut or remove the 12% VAT on electricity have circulated in Congress for years, through measures filed by former Bayan Muna lawmaker Teodoro Casiño, Senator Rodante Marcoleta and other legislators seeking to lower power costs. Several House members have pushed to exempt electricity from VAT or abolish the tax entirely.
The idea also aligns with the President’s campaign promises to bring down electricity rates, with VAT removal now seen by advocates as one of the most direct ways to deliver that pledge.
IMMEDIATE & TANGIBLE
Uy’s intervention adds the voice of a major telecom and infrastructure player to a long running policy debate that links high power and connectivity costs with corruption, accountability and economic justice.
He argued that abolishing VAT on essential utilities would provide immediate and tangible relief to taxpayers while complementing any future recoveries from those implicated in public works scandals.
Uy is thus challenging Malacañang to turn public outrage over stolen funds into concrete relief on monthly bills, by using VAT abolition on power and internet as both economic stimulus and political payback to long suffering taxpayers.