PJ Garcia: Lowering taxes on real property, transfers, sand and gravel helps

CEBU CITY, Philippines — Lawyer and former congressman Pablo John “PJ” Garcia is lobbying for the lowering of taxes levied on Cebuanos.

Garcia said that lowering taxes is the most honest form of “ayuda” or assistance that the Province can give its people, more far-reaching than traditional dole-outs distributed through political lines.

The former lawmaker is appealing for a province-wide rollback in real property taxes, transfer taxes and sand and gravel fees.

“Inflation is still high, prices are still high, and every family in Cebu feels it. And yet here we are, so caught up in the impeachment of the Vice President, when the statistics are staring us right in the face,” Garcia said.

Garcia pointed out that inflation in Cebu fell to 12.4 percent from 13.6 percent in May, while in Cebu City, where many of our constituents from Cebu province live, study, and work, it remains high at 13.7 percent, down only slightly from 16.1 percent.

“These are still painful numbers. The price of rice is steep. Fuel keeps getting pricier. These are the things that truly affect ordinary families every single day,” he added.

“This is serious. This is the reality our people are living in,” he said.

‘Province can afford it’

Garcia said that if the Provincial Government is currently willing to give Apo Cement a ₱1 billion discount in taxes, it can do it for everyone.

“If we can give a billion in tax relief to a single corporation, then we should be rolling back tax rates for all Cebuanos. What we need is a rollback in real property taxes to pre-pandemic levels, to give a break for every homeowner, every family, every taxpayer. Rollback is better than piecemeal assistance. Kini para sa tanan, dili para sa pipila lang (This is for everyone, not just for a few),” he explained.

Garcia argued that a tax rollback would put money back into the pockets of ordinary people at a time when they need it most.

Garcia pointed to sand and gravel as a prime example of the measure’s “domino effect,” noting that the material is a crucial component of construction used not only by big developers but by ordinary families building their homes or even comfort rooms.

“Tan-awon nato ang sand and gravel, usa ka crucial nga construction material nga bisan ang ordinaryong pamilya naggamit para sa ilang balay. Kung mo-ubos ang buhis, mo-ubos ang presyo. Kung ubos ang presyo, moubos ang construction cost, nga mobenepisyo di lamang sa mga panimalay kon di lakip na ang tanang negosyante. Mao na ang domino effect — ang benepisyo moabot dili lang sa dagkong negosyante, kon dili sa matag pamilyang Cebuano,” he said.

(Look at sand and gravel, a necessary construction material for many households. When taxes fall, their prices also fall, and so do construction costs. This benefits not just household but all traders. That is the domino effect, of benefits reaching both businessmen and each Filipino family.)

The former congressman stressed that the rollback should be seen not as a loss in revenue but as putting the money back into the economy, and vowed to push the measure in whatever capacity he can serve.

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