TRAIN proceeds should improve commuter train system, Angara says

THE government should use its additional revenue from tax reform, known as the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) Act, to fix Metro Manila’s commuter rail system, Sen. Juan Edgardo M. Angara said in a statement.

“The TRAIN law should fix our trains,” he said, adding in Filipino: “It is not just that thousands of commuters suffer from poor service from the Metro Rail Transit (MRT) and Light Rail Transit (LRT). The government should ensure that taxes collected go to programs that every Filipino can benefit from.”

Mr. Angara, who chairs the Senate ways and means committee, noted that “for the entire 2017, the Metro Rail Transit 3 (MRT-3) broke down more than 500 times, with thousands of passengers forced to disembark due to disrupted operations.”

Mr. Angara also noted that “under Republic Act 10963 or the TRAIN law, 70% of the yearly incremental revenues generated will be allocated to the Build, Build, Build Program and other infrastructure programs that seek to address congestion through better mass transport and new road networks.”

“If we provide the public an efficient, dependable, safe and affordable public transport system, it would definitely encourage more Filipinos to take mass transit rather than use their own cars, which would reduce traff ic congestion,” Mr. Angara added.

Part of the 70% will also go to projects that seek to enhance military infrastructure, sports facilities in public schools, and the drinking water supply.

The other 30% of revenue from TRAIN law will be allocated to social mitigating measures and investments in education, health, targeted nutrition, and antihunger programs, social protection, employment, and housing that prioritize and directly benefit both the poor and near-poor households.

“Apart from higher take-home pay because of lower income tax rates, Filipinos should see improved public services as this law intended,” Mr. Angara added. —