Opposition

This believes house believes or agrees that non-income tax earners must be allowed to vote.
Why is this so? Its because every citizen of the Republic of the Philippines has the right to vote.
Suffrage is the right of the people to choose their officials as their representatives, for definite
and fixed periods, to whom they entrust the exercise of the powers of government.

If we are to look at and to rummage what the Philippine Constitution says in the Article 5 Section
1, it is clearly stated there that suffrage may be exercised by all citizens of the Philippines not
otherwise disqualified by law, who are at least eighteen years of age and who shall have resided
in the Philippines for at least one year. No literacy, property, or other substantive requirement
shall be imposed on the exercise of suffrage. Substantive requirements like what? Your sex,
education level, or taxpaying ability. In this exercise, it is not stated that non-income tax payers
must not and should not vote nor exempted from voting. No.

It was also stipulated in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights Article 2,
paragraph 1, that present covenant must respect and ensure all individuals the rights
recognized, without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, birth or
other status.

And it is also clearly stated in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights Article 21 of 1948-
Everyone has the right of equal access to public service in his country. No one can deny that.

The will of the people shall be the basis of the authority of government; this will shall be
expressed in genuine elections by equal suffrage. These facts are all written to answer the
impunity and freedom of the Filipinos in terms of voting.

Lets remember the Katipunan Times, when you are not paying taxes, you are not allowed to
vote. But the question is, if we will do the same, is the right to vote properly observed? I dont
think so. Remember, that time, this exercise did not work out well, and if we are going to
compare the same exercise today, people have the mouth, the right of speech, just for you to
take note.

Lets say we would not allow the non-income tax earners to vote, then I can clearly say that half
of the population will not vote because of underemployment. They have to work first before they
earn the right to vote. Isnt that inequality?

Why do we need to do this while the Productivity declines as the tax rate increases, as people
choose to work less? The higher the tax rate, the less time they spend on more productive
activity. I know that one of what youre thinking is about bribery. Bribery of those who are not
paying for income taxes. But the question is, are those people not paying for income tax burden
of our economic growth? No. Simply because, who gave them that money?
Isnt it the politicians? So if they are given by the politicians, then they are the ones who are
burden of our economic growth. Why? Because they already know what the consequence is when
they give them, then they are preparing Philippines to fall especially our economy.
I am just here to speak on behalf all the non-income tax payers but have the right to vote.

Why is our country called democratic, if we are concealing the voice of the people, which is,
supposedly, the voice of our country? Remember, we are leaving in a democratic country, and
the people are the voice of nation. If there are some conditions in voting, then we are not living
in democracy. We are then again squeezed-neck, for we are controlled by people.
If we have the right to vote, then we can say that we are the sovereign Filipino people as stated
in the preamble of the Philippine Constitution.
Before I conclude, I just wanted to say, that if we are living in a democratic country, then lets be
democratic, lets abide the Philippines Constitution, The Universal Declaration of Human Rights,
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, etc.

We must be fair when it comes to voting, because that is the essential element of democracy