Art. VI. Sec 28 par.

3 Charitable institutions, churches and personages or convents appurtenant thereto, mosques, non-profit cemeteries, and all lands, buildings, and improvements, actually, directly, and exclusively used for religious, charitable, or educational purposes shall be exempt from taxation. Does this clause already have an enabling law? The Constitution also has an anti-dynasty clause but because it has no enabling law, politicians for all their greedy purposes disregard this section. I am wondering if its possible to tax the "donations", tithes or whatever religious organizations leeched from their followers if ever there is no enabling law for this clause. That is not to say I am opposed to this measure -- even as a Roman Catholic I can understand the imperative of additional sources of revenue, and would gladly support it if push came to shove -- pero ayusin muna natin ang mga sarili natin at tingnan natin kung paano natin mabibigyan ng solusyon ang mga problema natin ngayon with our current revenue streams, without resorting to selfish corruption.

only if the tax is meant to destroy, instead of you know it's usual purpose? please don't tell me taxes are meant to destroy working Filipinos now?

John Marshall once opined that the power to tax is the power to destroy. And because the Philippine Constitution guarantees that the church be protected from the state - that being the very essence or principle of the separation, any other tax levied on the church can be interpreted as a violation of that guarantee. There will be no violation of separation. There is nothing in the constitution that says church is equal in power with the government, so therefore the government is higher than the church (any church), and therefore can impose its will on it. I don't know how that "imposition of will" (which is how you put it anyway) violates the separation.

With tax exemption, the Catholic Church in the Philippines do not receive any assistance from the government. The Catholic CHurch pays for its own priests' health care, and retirement accommodation You wouldn't want what will happen if the Church is tax. Thefre will be an erosion of the separation of Church and State. Politicians will not be shy in providing assistance or favoring the Church when it asks for government assistance because politicians will need the Catholic vote during an election. The government will have to provide for a lots of services that the Cathoilc Church is taking care on their own before. You would be amaze how many Padre Damaso will emerge having unabashed influence on the police and politicians. The Philippines is not that hard up for money that it would need to tax the Catholic Church. And just like any taxpayer, the Catholic Church if taxed can hire expert accountants that are very good in "cooking" the books and can turn the tables around making the government paying enormous refunds. And whatever laws there is that define the separation of Church and State that protects the Church from the government and protects the goevernment from the Church will be blurred and you may not like what the consequences would be. remember that the Cory Constitution was partly drafted by some members of the local Roman Catholic Church. Ateneo Law professor and legal luminary Fr. Joaquin Bernas, a Jesuit priest, and Roman Catholic nun Sr. Christine Tan were among those who came up with the Cory Constitution in 1987. economist Bernardo Villegas, also a member of the body that drafted the Cory Constitution, is a member of the Opus Dei so it is expected that Opus Dei is going to protect the interests of the Roman Catholic Church in the Philippines by providing "exemptions" for it on the Cory Constitution. the Roman Catholic Church and a lot of other religions in this country are BIG BUSINESSES that use God's Name for profit. in the case of the local Roman Catholic Church, their exemptions allowed them to invest in stocks, bonds, mutual funds, real estate properties, etc. without paying the necessary taxes unlike ordinary individuals and businesses. Church-operated schools are charging expensive tuition fees on students, so do

their hospitals that charge expensive fees on patients. taxation is not going to be limited merely on the local Roman Catholic Church, for it is going to also cover the Iglesia ni Cristo; evangelical bodies such as the JIL, Jesus Miracle Crusade, Victory, New Life, CCF and GCF; Iglesia ni Quiboloy (a.k.a. The Kingdom of Jesus Christ, the Name Above Every Name); Islamic churches; and semi-sect groups such as El Shaddai. because of the exemptions that were illicitly placed by Church allies such as Bernas, Tan and Villegas on the Constitution, the likes of the Manalo clan, Eddie Villanueva, Apollo Quiboloy and Mike Velarde, just like members of the Roman Catholic clergy, became billionaires, as they utilize God's Name and the gullibility of the masses to enrich themselves. if the Italians are able to tax the Roman Catholic Church and other religions there upon the pressure of the EU, so should we tax the religions in this country.