Tulfo wants to abolish travel tax for budget travelers

Senator Raffy Tulfo is pushing for the abolition of travel taxes being imposed on economy class passengers traveling abroad.

Imposing additional costs on budget travelers violates their constitutional right to travel, according to Tulfo.

He cited Article III, Section 6 of the 1987 Constitution that recognizes the right to travel of every citizen.

This right to travel, the chair of the Senate public services panel said, should not be impaired, except in cases of national security, public safety, or public health concerns.

Presidential Decree No. (PD) 1183, issued in 1977, is the basis for the government’s continued imposition of the travel tax, which Tulfo seeks to repeal.

In PD 1183, Filipinos who are exempted from the payment of travel tax are overseas Filipino workers, infants, and government officials and corporations on official travel.IMT