BY WENDELL VIGILIA

IN a thinly veiled threat, Speaker Prospero Nog-rales yesterday floated the idea of revoking all the tax privileges of the Catholic Church and all religious institutions that engage in politics, following the call of the Catholic Bishop’s Conference of the Philippines for a "new brand of people power."

"In other countries like America, I am informed that once the Church enters the political arena, it is stripped of its tax privileges but here in the Philippines, this is not the case. Maybe it’s worth studying by our political scientists," said Nograles.

The Church, its lands, and the institutions under its auspices such as schools and broadcast stations are tax-free.

The call for a "new brand of people power" was issued Monday by Archbishop Angel Lagdameo, CBCP president, amid fresh calls for President Arroyo’s ouster triggered by allegations of payoffs surrounding government’s national broadband network project.

Nograles clarified he was merely exploring the idea of taxing the Church and not advocating it. He described himself as a "devout" Catholic but said the principle of separation of Church and State must always be respected.

Rep. Roilo Golez (Ind., Parañaque) said any move to scrap the tax privileges of religious institutions, even if the move targets religious institutions that engage in politics, "is an assault on the principle of separation of Church and State enshrined in the Constitution."

"It is a veiled threat on all religious organizations especially considering the vagueness of what constitutes ‘politics,’ the meaning and interpretation of which can be subject to abuse and capriciousness," he said.

"Will endorsing a candidate be considered engaging in politics? What about commenting on charter change? What about allowing a priest to run for office?" he added.

Golez said taxing or the intent to tax the Church "is like pointing a gun at the organization to be taxed."

"It must be remembered that the threat to unleash the BIR on any entity, business or person is a very frightening threat and can exert grave pressure," he said.

"That is also the reason the government cannot appropriate funds to support a religious organization because a carrot, just like a stick, can unduly influence that religious group," he said.