2nd Negative Speaker ( First Motion)

Honorable adjudicator/s, worthy opponents, ladies and gentlemen, good

afternoon. I'm the second speaker for the negative team and I will be continuing my
team's case tonight Let it be resolved that Manny Pacquiao is entitled to the rare
privilege of being tax-exempt on his income. We the negative team believe that this
statement is false. It is my task to show that tax-exempt of Manny Pacquiao on his
income is not beneficial to the Philippines.
Today I will be talking to you about my points. Now to my first point, taxation is a
legal obligation. Manny Pacquiao has brought more countless honor and pride to the
Filipino people but the basic principle of taxation is "equal distribution of wealth" and
paying the right taxes is part of being a good citizen.It is the role of government to write
and enforce equitable tax laws for the benefit of society. As the presidential spokesman
said It's the duty of every citizen to pay the right taxes. Paying taxes is one of the basic
obligations of every Filipino citizen. In enlightening this further, the great former
Supreme Court Justice Isagani Cruz, in his textbook Constitutional Law stated that the
power of taxation is inherent sovereignty that the grant of which is not necessary but the
exercise is provided safeguards and limitations. Its exercise is, however, restricted by
the following rule:
(1) The rule of taxation shall be uniform and equitable. The Congress shall
evolve a progressive system of taxation (Article VI, Section 28, par. 1).
The present Constitution adds that uniformity in the matter of belonging to the same
class shall be taxed at the same rate and equitability in a sense that the tax burden
must be imposed according to the taxpayers capacity to pay (Cruz, Constitutional Law,
2007 ed., p. 177). The tax that Pacquiao would pay could help improve the condition of
many poor Filipinos.
Now to my second point, the proposal of the affirmative speaker already invites a
legal challenge to the validity of equality of right which is embodied in Section 1, Article
III of the 1987 Constitution thereof provides in part that no person shall be denied the
equal protection of the laws because it amounts to class legislation favoring a particular
individual with financial benefits too large for the government to ignore.

Class

legislation is prohibited by the equal protection clause of the Constitution. The equal
protection of the laws is embraced in the concept of due process, as every unfair
discrimination offends the requirements of justice and fair play. It has been embodied in
a separate clause, however, to provide for a more specific guaranty against any form of
undue favoritism or hostility from the government. It is simply requires that all persons or
things similarly situated should be treated alike, both as to rights conferred and
responsibilities imposed. Even if Pacquiao has done much to promote the Philippines
on the world boxing map, and although he has made many Filipinos proud of his
accomplishments in the ring he should not be given the privilege of tax-exempt. If the
government gives him that rare privilege then in that case, all the Filipino beauty queens
who have made the country proud should also be exempt from paying taxes. Other
athletes who win world titles should be exempt from paying taxes because they bring
honor to the country. Families of Filipino overseas contract workers who bring in billions
of dollars into the country should also be exempt from paying taxes.
My third and final point is that the tax-exempt of Manny Pacquiao on his income
is not beneficial to the Philippines because it violates the 1987 Philippine Constitution
that sets limitations on the exercise of the power to tax. Tax exemptions are limited to
those granted by law. However, no law granting any tax exemption shall be passed
without the concurrence of a majority of all the members of the Congress. (Article VI,
Section 28, par. 4). The Constitution expressly grants tax exemption on certain
entities/institutions such as (1) charitable institutions, churches, parsonages or convents
appurtenant thereto, mosques, and nonprofit cemeteries and all lands, buildings and
improvements actually, directly and exclusively used for religious, charitable or
educational purposes (Article VI, Section 28, paragraph 3); (2) non-stock non-profit
educational institutions used actually, directly and exclusively for educational purposes.
(Article XVI, Section 4(3)). According to the list released by the Bureau of Internal
Revenue, boxing champ Manny Pacquiao emerged as the top taxpayer in the country
with the amount paid P163.84 million based only on regular income tax payments made
as of November 24, 2014. Thus, this amount will help a lot of Filipino people especially
those people experiencing poverty. Sen. Angara, chair of the Senate committee said in

a statement that to tax-exempt Manny will mean loss of revenue for government.
Taxation helps to develop the infrastructure of the state like Roads, hospitals, legal
protection, welfare security, environment preservation are all possible for our
enjoyment tax will helps to improve the standard of the education. It will be able to
provide education to all citizens and helps to increase the standard of living of the
citizen. The importance of taxation is the lifeblood of the government. In Commissioner
v. Algue, the Supreme Court said that taxes are the lifeblood of the government and
should be collected without unnecessary hindrance. They are what we pay for a
civilized society. Without taxes, the government would be paralyzed for lack of motive
power to activate and operate it. The government, for its part, is expected to respond in
the form of tangible and intangible benefits intended to improve the lives of the people
and enhance their moral and material values. With all these said, I, as the Second
Speaker for the Negative Side, rest my case.
REFERENCES

PDFs:
OECD (2014),Fundamental Principles of Taxation in Addressing the Tax Challenges of
the Digital Economy, OECD Publishing. Retrieved in June 8, 2015 at
http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/9789264218789-en
Books:
Cruz, Isagani A. (2007). Constitutional Law. Central Book Supply, Inc.
1987 Philippine Constitution
The Natioal Internal Revenue Code of the Philipines.[Tax Reform Act of 1997]. Republic
Act No. 8424