No relief. Oil companies plan a staggered P6 a liter increase for diesel.
***
Gloria to defend
VAT before bishops ‘Katas helps poor’ is gov’t line
in meeting next week
BY JOCELYN MONTEMAYOR
PRESIDENT Arroyo will lead her economic team
in explaining to the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the
Philippines the importance of keeping intact the value added
tax, Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita said yesterday.
Five bishops led by Cardinal Ricardo Vidal,
archbishop of Cebu, requested an audience with Arroyo, he said.
The meeting is set for next week, said Budget
Secretary Rolando Andaya.
MALACAÑANG yesterday shot down calls for
another round of fare increases for public utility vehicles,
saying the government will not succumb to every request, much
more to the whims of public transport operators and groups.
Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita said
operators will have to make do with the P1 additional jeepney
and bus fare which was approved last Tuesday.
Citing the weekly increase in fuel cost, the
Pinag-isang Samahan ng Tsuper at Opereytor Nationwide (Piston)
said it wants a fare increase of P4 to P5 from the 50 centavos
it petitioned in October last year while the Federation of
Jeepney Drivers and Operators (Fejodap) wants at least a P10
minimum fare.
A MILITANT labor group yesterday called for
another round of salary adjustments to help workers cope with
their decreasing purchasing power.
Josua Mata, secretary general of the Alliance
for Progressive Labor, said government might need to create a
wage body with the power to set a national minimum wage as well
as industry-based minimum salaries.
Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita said the
situation "does not warrant talking again of wage increase by
the regional wage boards or by legislation."
