(Conclusion)
MANILA, Philippines --- “We are not aware of those kinds of laws. It surprises us because there’s no such thing like that before. But now, different kinds of increases are booming out,” reacted 63-year-old Manny (not his real name), on the newly signed Administrative Order No. 31 (AO 31), which authorizes increases in government fees and charges.
Similarly, Eloisa Lat, a 24-year-old bakery owner in Manila, is not aware of the new administrative order signed by the President last October 1.
She hoped, though, that it will not greatly affect her small business.
“I think it depends on how big your business is. The fees and charges may not be the same,” said Eloisa.
The senior seaman, who works as an electrician in a chemical tanker, wanted the new law to be repealed, since it will only be a burden to ordinary citizens, like him, who apply for government permits when the need arises.
“What can we do? We just want to board the ship and be a seaman, but [with this order,] if we can’t comply with the requirements, how can we board?” Manny said, noting that overseas workers need to apply for numerous government permits just to comply with their job’s requirements.
“Business owners, like me, are paying a lot on the fees and charges, including other expenses. We might not be able to afford them anymore if they are raised,” said Eloisa.
Kabataan Party-list Rep. Raymond Palatino, in an interview with MB Research, concurred with Manny’s statements and asked the President to “immediately review the Administrative Order and halt its implementation to clear first if this will be the best way for government agencies to raise revenues, since the poor will greatly be affected [with this new order].”
But Presidential Communications Operations Office Secretary Sonny Coloma assured the public that before a fee hike can be implemented, it will be studied carefully to find out if the prices are reasonable and acceptable.
In another interview, Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) Assistant Secretary Jaime Ledda supported Coloma’s assertion, saying that “there’s a need for these types of orders to remind the government that if there are any plans to increase fees, there is a procedure to be followed.”
The DFA is one of the government agencies that will be allowed to make adjustments on its fees once AO 31 has been finalized and once the implementing rules and regulations have been finalized. Ledda said various factors can prompt a government agency to raise fees.
“The prime objective there is towards the improvement of government services,” said Ledda, adding that such an increase is important in introducing new technologies, acquiring new equipment, expanding operations, introducing new services, or improving current services.
Coloma guaranteed the public that government agencies will be balanced in recovering the costs of services rendered and the socio-economic impact of their imposition to determine the rates of new fees and charges.
“While cost of living rises, cost of wages and cost of salaries also keep up with the adjustment [and] the entire economy is adjusting to new price levels… We are not thinking of imposing burden or unjust payment; what we’re after is the right price,” added Coloma.
The Department of Finance (DOF), the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) and the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) will be overseeing the implementation of the AO 31.
“These departments (DOF, DBM and NEDA) will be seeing things from a different perspective, so they can see whether the proposal for a price or fee increase is acceptable,” Ledda said.
Coloma said a set of implementing rules and regulations (IRR) will be crafted to make sure that “the process of determining the fees will be based on reasonability and affordability; otherwise, it will be limiting the possibility that it will gain public acceptance.”
Without the IRR being presented, state agencies and government-owned and controlled companies (GOCCs) have yet to implement any increase on their rates and to impose new fees.
Palatino, however, maintained that the government agencies and bureaus don’t need to raise their fees since this order will just do more harm than good to the public.
“Their argument concerning the improvement of government services with this new order is wrong, since it is already the mandate of the government to improve immediately [their services]. It is not based on the increasing fees,” Palatino said, mentioning that increasing fees should not be equivalent to efficiently improving the services.
Palatino clarified that the increase is unnecessary, since the government still has a lot of fund—the e-governance fund—for the digitization that will reduce the cost. He also revealed that every agency also receives a budget from the national government.
“With the digitization [fund], it should be more affordable and the transaction has reduced cost… [Under this law,] we are depriving poor people of chances to access government documents because of high cost,” added Palatino.
On the issue of bypassing NEDA, Coloma defended that no agency is bypassed because NEDA is still part of the administrative order.
“If government operations are not effective, there must be something wrong with the plan. Agencies are given budgets now to put into operation their objectives and their plans,” said Ledda. He advised the government agencies to find out if the changes they are about to make will match what the public need.
“You have to find out if [the changes] match what the public need because there are lots of good ideas out there, services and best practices to be learned,” added Ledda.
Coloma, on the other hand, advised the public to first give the government agencies a chance and refrain from making negative conclusions.
“This will be a very transparent process. We are going to inform the people, won’t hide anything and [we] won’t surprise them. They will have every opportunity to suggest changes or improvements. The principle here is the fees and rates might increase but it will have to find its own equilibrium and it will have to be adjusted in such a way that is not detrimental to the society,” said Coloma.
As for Manny, he said “perhaps, we’ll just wait for the right moment that everything will be back to normal, not actually too low, but not as well super expensive; the amount that is just right for us.”
Eloisa, on the other hand, appealed to the Chief Executive to make sure of that the primary purpose of his new administrative order will be achieved.
“If the increase in charges and fees will be put to good use, even if it’s going to be costly, why not?” said Eloisa.
“Let’s all remember that 90 percent of our countrymen belong to class D and E whose income is minimum wage. We cannot give them prices that will result in harm and disadvantage. It should be affordable; otherwise, it’s like we deprive them of [government] services, and that is not our goal here,” said Coloma.
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