Press Release - Sen. Pia Cayetano's transcript of her Manifestation during RBH No. 6 Hearing

Thank you, Mr President. I'd like to also greet our esteemed resource persons, my professor, V.V. Mendoza, if you remember me, sir? Of course, Chief Justice Davide, we worked very closely when you were our emissary to the United Nations. And of course, Secretary Teves, who I have recently been seeing on the golf course, but then I stopped so goodbye to my golf career. Anyway, to everyone else, good afternoon. Justice [inaudible], Dr. Sikat, and everybody else.

Mr Chairman, a few questions. As you said, I am coming from my experience as the Chair of the Committee on Ways and Means, and one of our resource persons, I was by the way listening, thanks to technology, I was listening to Youtube, so I heard the opening statements of our colleagues and the statements of our resource persons. So I may not have been physically present, but some of my questions come from the statements that were made that I caught on Youtube.

One of the resource persons mentioned the flip flopping of our rules or the way we conduct business and the way we encourage the foreign business community. And that is exactly what we tackled during the hearings in the Committee on Ways and Means. And so, when we talk about flip flopping positions, as we speak, and this is no critique or anything on the ongoing hearings now, but in fact, we are reviewing again the CREATE Law. And one of the revisions... one of the proposals there is to go back to the incentives that were given to some investors that have been there for 30 years or more. And this has been thoroughly discussed. And we appreciate that the investments have been made, but it is also time for us to gain a little bit from the taxes that would have been gained. So if we are gonna go back to that, then that is our main problem, if I may? I am not the resource person, but I am sharing my experience having chaired this Committee and going back and forth, and many of our colleagues here were also present during that Congress. So that to me is the flip flopping of business policies that the foreigners have to deal with.

The other thing that I'd like to point out is, one of the examples given by my seatmate here, Mr. Africa of Ibon Foundation, is