Agusan del Norte Rep. Lawrence Fortun appealed to all private schools not to hike tuition and other fees for 2021 until 2022.
Fortun said Congress is working with CHED and DepEd to aid distressed private schools to prevent fee hikes.
“We proved this with the pandemic tax rates, which the small non-profit proprietary school can avail of with proper filings with the BIR (Bureau of Internal Revenue),” the legislator said.
“I propose the provision of non-cash assistance, such as rice subsidies and grocery vouchers, for faculty and non-teaching personnel.”
The lawmaker also proposed the provision of non-cash assistance, such as rice subsidies and grocery vouchers, for faculty and non-teaching personnel.
He said the Department of Social Welfare and Development should work with the associations of private schools so that relief goods and hygiene kits could be given to personnel of small private schools.
“DOLE could include small private schools in its Bayanihan cash aid programs.”
Fortun noted that the Department of Labor and Employment could also include small private schools in its Bayanihan cash aid programs, while the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases could come up with non-tax incentives that could reduce operations costs of small private schools and other small businesses.
He said the Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises (CREATE) Act could serve as a guide on reducing dependence on tax incentives as tools of national policy.
“Better governance and efficient public service are more effective at fostering economic growth than giving away tax incentives. The CREATE Act and the Ease of Doing Business Act established that development approach, so let us stick to those precedents,” Fortun concluded.