MANILA, Philippines — The government’s chief lawyer has asked the Supreme Court to dismiss for “utter lack of merit” the two petitions against the Duterte administration’s Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion Act, arguing that the newly-enacted law is not anti-poor.

President Rodrigo Duterte has thrown his weight behind the TRAIN law, which aims to help fund his administration’s ambitious infrastructure program. It took effect last January 1.

But early this year, two petitions were filed asking the high court to strike down as unconstitutional the new tax law, which the petitioners said imposed “a heavy burden on Filipinos.”

The petitioners also said House leaders committed grave abuse of discretion when they ratified the TRAIN Bicameral Conference Committee Report "despite the glaring lack of quorum."

In a consolidated comment dated April 19, Solicitor General Jose Calida said the petitions should be junked outright, pointing out, among others, that the TRAIN law was “validly” passed by Congress and signed into law by the president.

Calida also argued that the petitions “suffer from procedural infirmities” and that petitioners violated the principle of hierarchy of courts.

The state's chief legal consel then invoked the separation of powers, arguing that “it is not within the province of courts to direct Congress how to do its work.”

Anti-poor?

The TRAIN act—which lowers personal income taxes while raising excise levies on fuel and cigarettes, among others—has been blamed for the recent surge in prices of key consumer items.

Using 2012 as base year, the general increase in prices of widely used goods and services averaged 3.8 percent in the first quarter of 2018, hovering near the top-end of the government’s 2-4 percent target range for annual inflation.

“To reiterate, the TRAIN Law has been carefully designed as not to trigger extreme price shocks, especially in prime commodities,” Calida argued.

“In fact, the core purpose of the TRAIN Law is to eradicate extreme poverty and reduce inequality by formulating a tax reform that will utilize the government’s budget to protect the most vulnerable sectors in the society,” he added.