House minority bloc opposes salt tax

MANILA, Philippines — A government proposal to impose tax on food having salt as ingredient met its early demise even before a bill could be filed in the House of Representatives, with both administration and opposition lawmakers against it. 

“We must draw the line at taxing food that our countrymen regularly consume, particularly the poor. Sobra na ang panukalang buwisan pa ang mga produkto na may maraming asin. Pati mga mahihirap ay gusto pang pahirapan (It’s too much that we impose taxes on products having salt. They even want to make it harder  for the poor),” House Minority Leader Bienvenido Abante said over the weekend. 

Speaking on behalf of the 27-member House opposition bloc, the Manila congressman vowed to oppose any proposal to tax salty food as he advised government policymakers to assess the impact of any tax measure on the poor before recommending its adoption. 

The Department of Health earlier served notice it was going to endorse the measure in light of a recent World Health Organization report that revealed salt consumption of Filipinos exceeded WHO standards and recommendations.

Albay Rep. Joey Salceda, chairman of the House committee on ways and means, rejected the DOH endorsement, noting that this is inflationary and highly regressive, which meant the poorest would suffer the most. 

Salceda said the DOH “cannot be passing the ball of health outcomes to tax policy when it has yet to demonstrate and execute affirmative action on health issues such as polio, dengue and other diseases.” 

Abante also noted that “many food items, when not eaten in moderation, are potential health risks.”

“It is the DOH’s responsibility to inform our citizens about this. In this regard, education, not taxation, should be the focus of our health department.” 

“In our view, we think that proposals to tax salty food is too much. It’s as if we want to add even more to the burdens of the poor. Food – salty or not – is a basic need, it isn’t a vice,” the opposition lawmaker stressed.