President Rodrigo Duterte signed the Republic Act No. 10963, more popularly known as Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) Law, as part of the first package of the Comprehensive Tax Reform Program (CTRP) (Department of Finance, n.d.). One of the changes it brought is the additional excise tax on products such as sweetened beverages, petroleum, and automobiles. It later resulted in a price hike of related and affected goods and services. With that, Filipino consumers face the problem of purchasing and consuming high-priced commodities. Furthermore, a lot of people are struggling on how they will adjust their budget for everything that they need for daily living.

We, the students from Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila, have studied the impact of TRAIN Law on Filipino middle-income families. The research indicates that the implemented tax reform negatively affected their lives, specifically their non-food expenditures. Such affected spending includes utilities, transportation fare, and miscellaneous goods and services. Students and other family members also delimited their budget in order to cope with the increased basic commodities. In relation with other studies, a Pulse Asia survey conducted last March 2018 also suggests that many Filipinos felt the prices escalation of the products. Furthermore, a study made by the Research and Tech Lab represents that the Filipinos responded negatively on the outcome of the TRAIN Law. Thus, it is not only middle-income families who are greatly affected by adverse changes but also the greater Filipino public.

We made this petition to inform the authorities about the effect of TRAIN Law, specifically to middle-income families. With various literature pointing out the law's bane, we appeal to the Duterte administration to repeal the TRAIN Law in order to eradicate its impact not only for this specific segment of our population but also for other Filipinos. In replacement of the current tax collection system, the government can amend it in which the GABRIELA is proposing that an individual will only have to pay the tax within one's earning capacity. Furthermore, the abolition of the law will eliminate the imposition of excise tax on certain products and consequently, there will be not much price surge which will make the people's living condition better.