Malacaņang is confident that Congress would finally pass the expanded valued-added tax (VAT) bill during its three-day special session from March 30 to April 1.

"We believe that Congress will have enough time to deliberate and finally decide on the proposed amendments to the value-added tax system," Press Secretary Ignacio R. Bunye said in a radio interview this morning.

Bunye, who is also the Presidential spokesman, said President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has issued Proclamation No. 811 convening Congress to a three-day special session immediately after the Holy Week to rush the approval of the expanded VAT bill.

Congress adjourned Friday for its three-week Lenten break until April 10, although the Senate had failed to pass its version of the VAT restructuring measure.

The House of Representatives has already approved on third and final reading the draft law seeking to increase the VAT rate from 10 percent to 12 percent as endorsed by the Arroyo administration.

Bunye reiterated the need for the immediate passage by Congress of the expanded VAT bill "to put our fiscal house in order, balance the budget, and provide enough funds for the administration’s priority programs."

In Proclamation No. 811, the President said she was convening Congress to a special session "to urgently consider the passage of the bill Restructuring the Value-Added Tax System aimed at accelerating the recovery of the country’s fiscal condition, achieving domestic stability and improving investor confidence in the Philippines that will lead to the creation of more opportunities for our people."

One of a cluster of eight revenue measures the President has certified to Congress as urgent, the expanded VAT bill is considered as a major component of the government’s fiscal consolidation program.

The program aims to balance the budget in six years and reduce the consolidated public sector deficit (CPSD) to just 1.0 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP).

With a reduced CPSD, the national government hopes to be able to utilize its financial resources to deliver more basic services, create more jobs and further reduce poverty in the country.

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Romulo succeeded Albert at the DFA.

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