Withdraw eVAT

Once again the executive branch of the government has proven that it really controls not only the Congress but also the Supreme Court, one of the three pillars of the government and supposedly the last bastion of justice that the people could rely on to uphold their interests.

Congress junked all the impeachment initiatives after months of exhaustive deliberations and wastage of people's money. Now, the Supreme Court, in a complete show of allegiance not to the Constitution but to President Gloria Arroyo, has lifted the TRO on EVAT; thus worsening our economic miseries as the people's right to know the truth and to seek justice was utterly clamped down.

The Alliance of Progressive Labor is expecting more of the Supreme Court than its obviously callous response to the plight of the Filipino people when it issued its ruling on the EVAT law. We are curious as to how the Court could gloss over the undue delegation of constitutionally mandated authority given to Congress to impose taxes. Giving the president, especially a fake president like GMA, to raise tax rates is a violation of the Constitution.

The insertion of provisions absent in the original House and Senate versions was also an arrogant display of grave abuse of power. How could the Court simply ignore this?

Whatever happened to the constitutional provision asserting that sovereignty resides in the people and all authority emanates from them? Congress simply overstepped the mandate given them in arrogating a measure that the people neither need nor want.

The APL asserts that it is not through the imposition of an additional tax measure, such as the regressive and punitive EVAT, that the fiscal crisis could be resolved. It is only through a transparent and accountable governance, one that seriously and thoroughly addresses corruption and loopholes in the tax system, would pull our country out of this mess.

We urge the Supreme Court to withdraw its decision and uphold justice, which is the interest of the Filipino people. It must seriously contemplate whether it is defending the Constitution or the fake president in Malacañang.

Either way, the Filipino people will not permit that our interests be trampled again. The APL vows to defend and advance these interests and, together with the other basic sectors in our society, will assert that these interests be fully realized.