(BusinessWorld) A BILL which makes explicit the eligibility of private schools for tax relief during the pandemic has passed in the Senate on second reading.

Senator Pilar Juliana S. Cayetano, who chairs the Senate Committee on Ways and Means, on Tuesday sponsored Senate Bill No. 2407, as reported out from committee with some minor modifications. The measure amends Section 27(B) of the National Internal Revenue Code.

The amendment specifically makes private schools qualified to pay a temporarily lower tax rate to help them survive the economic crisis.

Their eligibility had initially been questioned by the Bureau of Internal Revenue, which ruled that only non-profit private schools were entitled to tax relief. This BIR ruling has since been withdrawn.

Senate President Pro Tempore Ralph G. Recto, a co-sponsor of the bill, noted that it was important to ensure that private schools, which have been severely affected by the pandemic, do not shut down permanently.

“The type of bailout through tax relief is more economical on the part of the government than letting private schools close, as the latter would trigger a migration of refugees to public schools whose education must now be shouldered by taxpayers,” he said.