Iminungkahi ni House Ways and Means Committee Chair at Albay Representative Joey Salceda sa economic managers na gamitin ang kita mula sa ipinapataw na buwis sa sweetened beverages bilang pampondo sa ‘food stamp’ program ng DSWD.
Magugunita na medyo may aprehensiyon ang mga economic managers sa pagsusulong ng naturang programa dahil sa gastos.
Ayon kay Cong. Salceda sa ilalim ng TRAIN Law, 30% ng sweetened tax beverages ay nakalaan dapat sa social measures na siyang tutugon sa edukasyon, kalusugan at nutrisyon, at mga programang tutugon sa gutom.
At dahil sa hindi naipatupad ang probisyon ng TRAIN na pondohan ang mga programa para sa sugar farmers, maaaring ipasok na rin sila sa food stamp program.
Naniniwala ang economist solon na posible rin aniyang umusad na sa Kamara ang panukalang junk food tax upang pandagdag sa pondo ng programa.
“If we are going to discuss new taxes on any junk food, funding nutritional programs should be part of the mix. I have not received an official request from the Department of Finance to take up the measure they said they want my committee to take up. But if they send a draft bill for me to file and take up, funding nutritional programs with a hard earmark has to be part of the mix,” Salceda concluded.
Samantala, hinimok din ni Salceda ang Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) na pag-isahin ang panukalang food stamps program sa hakbang ng Department of Agriculture (DA) upang bumili at mag-market ng mga lokal na produkto ng sakahan.
“Food stamps, as envisioned and implemented in other countries, are really agricultural programs. They aim to bridge rural surpluses with food-poor urban communities. That way, we address both urban poverty and rural poverty,” ayon kay Cong. Salceda.
“Around 30 percent of farmers are poor. So, if you want to make this program sustainable, you link it with boosting farmer incomes,” dagdag pa ni Salceda.
