(Eagle News) — Is that all you’ve got?
Solicitor General Jose Calida had this to say to the militant lawmakers who asked the Supreme Court to declare the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion law unconstitutional.
In a Twitter post on Thursday, Calida even thanked Representatives Antonio Tinio of ACT Teachers party-list, Carlos Zarate of Bayan Muna, and Ariel Casilao of Anakpawis, who filed the petition minutes before, for “making (his) job easier.”
“Lack of quorum of Congress. Is that all you have to nullify the TRAIN law?” he asked.
Calida, however, no longer elaborated.
In arguing for what they said was the unconstitutionality of TRAIN, Tinio, Casilao and Zarate said that the process for the passage of the law as stipulated in the 1987 Constitution and in the Lower House rules was not followed.
They noted that there were only 10 to 15 lawmakers when the House of Representatives ratified the bicameral conference committee report–or the harmonized TRAIN bill versions of both houses of Congress —in December.
They also argued that TRAIN would not bring any benefit to the poorest sectors of society, as they would end up shouldering much of the burden brought about by the higher prices of consumer goods.