Alleba Politics

Republic Act 9337 An Act Amending Sections 27, 28, 34, 106, 107, 109, 110, 111, 112, 113, 114, 116, 117, 119, 121, 148, 151, 236, 237 and 288 of the National Internal Revenue Code of 1997, as Amended, and for Other Purposes otherwise known as the Expanded Value-Added Tax (VAT) Law. July 1, 2005: take note of this date. This is the day when RA 9337 takes effect.

The most notable consequence of RA 9337 is the lifting of the exemption of Value-Added Tax on petroleum products. By July 1, gasoline prices will go up by 10%. Simply put, there is an increase of about P3 per liter of gasoline. Yes, that’s one plus one plus one. That’s pesos not cents. Compound this with the forever rising prices of petroleum products in the world market, legitimate economists say that local gasoline prices might inevitably reach P50 per liter within the year. Consequently, the prices of all commodities and products will rise. Contrary to what the government wants us to believe, the price of EVERYTHING will increase.

According to the government, the poorest of the poor will not be affected by this since the price of basic commodities, allegedly, will not be imposed with VAT. Among the goods allegedly not affected by this are rice, canned sardines and instant noodles. Not only is the government condemning the “poor” to an unhealthy diet, they have also overlooked that even buyers and sellers of these commodities ride vehicles which run on petroleum products. Yes, everything is affected by RA 9337. And the hardest hit are the poorest of the poor. To begin with, they earn below the minimum wage, if they earn money at all. And even the minimum wage is way below meeting the basic needs of a decent living man. Now they have to contend with higher prices of every product and commodity available.

Moreover, the prices of basic services, most notably of electricity will also rise by 10% or more. So too will water services increase.

Furthermore, professional bills will also increase by 10%. Yes, artistas will have to pay taxes equivalent to 10% of their earnings. More importantly, lawyers, doctors, engineers and other professionals will also have to do so. And of course they could not possibly carry the weight of this 10% tax without passing it on to their clients. Not only will people be undernourished, they will be condemned to a life of minimal health and legal services, if any.

How can the lives of Filipinos be any better if they earn so little and need so much? How can they sleep better at night when their stomachs are empty? How can they be more productive if they have little or no access to healthcare?

Now tell me, does anyone honestly believe that RA 9337 will do the country and its people any good?

Download the full text of RA 9337.

One of the most resounding suggestions that reverberate around the country is that of holding snap elections, if President Arroyo does resign. Apparently, the idea of Vice-President Noli de Castro frightens many Filipinos. Thus, a lot of people prefer the idea of snap elections. Furthermore, if it is indeed proven true that Pres. Arroyo cheated last elections then VP de Castro might have also cheated. Nonetheless, whether he cheated or not, is not an issue anymore. By association, he is tainted by Arroyo’s lack of judgment. Unless he strongly dissociates himself from Arroyo, there is little chance that he will become an effective independent-minded president, if Arroyo resigns.

Therefore, the logical step is to hold snap elections. Whether it will be peaceful and successful is not an issue anymore. Whether it will yield a president who is trully deserving is not an issue either. The greater and more pressing issue here is the protection of the integrity of the Philippine democracy and its processes. The argument that holding snap elections would only create instability is not valid. For us to gain credibility and stability as a people and as a nation, holding snap elections is the only logical solution. The argument that we are better off with Arroyo as president than anybody else is again invalid. The fact is, Arroyo might have never been elected as President, thus, she does not deserve to be so no matter how effective she might seem to be for some people. As a democratic nation, we take the risk of having an ineffective leader. As a free people, we have the power to elect whoever we think deserves to be elected as president no metter what our reasons might be, be it popularity, charisma, intelligence or competency.

Undeniably, we are a long way from having an effective government and true unselfish political leaders. And it would be delusional to think that snap elections will yield such. For the meantime, let us not be ambitious and unfoundedly idealistic. The least we can hope for is a snap election that will at least give credibility and stability to the mandate of whoever is elected as the next president of the country.

It has been said, over and over again, that the masses rule this country and their whims and wishes put this country to where we are now. However, recent events, I believe, have shown us otherwise. If former Pres. Eastrada was the one caught to be talking to a COMELEC official after the elections, the middle class and the so-called civil society would have been up in arms way before he was forced to admit to it. If it was Loi Estrada, Jinggoy Estrada and any of Estrada’s other relatives who were being accused of accepting jueteng money, countless of people would have already stormed Malacañang. WAIT! That did happen.

What then, is the difference then and now? The difference, I think, is that the moneyed and powerful civil society back then, supported the social unrest and proceeded to unseat a president they deemed unqualified and incompetent to lead. Whereas these days, they remained deaf and mute to the clamor of society to know the truth. They remain undecided and pathetic towards similar events.

How about the election of former Pres. Estrada? Surely the upper middle class and upper classes votes didn’t make him win. But would he have won without the financial support of the middle and upper classes? Would the masses even have elected him into the presidency if the moneyed didn’t support his bid? Of course not. And when the upper and middle classes finally felt the economic and social repercussions of their own folly, they rose and proceeded to unseat him. They did it, not the masses.

Whether we admit it or not, there is little that the masses can do without the money and machinery of the upper classes. So unless the upper classes raise their fists against the Arroyo presidency, Pres. Arroyo will not budge from where she is seated right now. Until their businesses suffer and they can no longer exist without feeling the consequences of the recent polical events, we can expect no radical changes.

We can continue to point fingers and delude ourselves, but the reality is that this country is ruled not by a corrupt and tarnished government, not even by the desperate and uneducated masses but by the moneyed upper classes.

Now that Pres. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has effectively admitted that it is indeed her voicethat was recorded in the so-called “Hello, Garci” tapes, what now? I admit that her admission is a good step towards recovery, it does nothing to restore back the faith and trust of the Filipino people on her, her presidency’s legitimacy and her governance.

Now that she has spoken, the concerned government agencies, the opposition and, most importantly, civil society must now examine carefully the legal steps that must be taken that she has indeed spoken the entire truth and did nothing to betray the Filipino people and jeopardize the stability of the country and the already tainted sanctity of the country’s electoral process. Moreover, the social, economic and moral implications and repercussions of the events must also be examined as well as those of the legal steps that may be taken.

Ultimately, the government, the opposition and civil society must prioritize the stability and integrity of the country and its its democratic processes. Now is not the time for grandstanding and politicking. At times of uncertainty and social upheaval, the country and its citizens are looking for trustworthy people who we know are looking after the country’s best interests only and not their own personal or political gain.

Surely, this is not the end of this chapter as Pres. Arroyo wished it would be. This is only the beginning.

The hottest issue these days is the alleged wiretapped conversation of Pres. Gloria Arroyo and former COMELEC Commissioner Garcilliano. The conversation allegedly proves that Pres. Arroyo did cheat during the 2004 Presidential Elections. So much has been said by so many people. Politicians affiliated with both the administration and the opposition, the clergy, civil society and everybody else have had their two cents worth aired on mass media.

The only person we have yet to hear from is the person involved. Everybody, it seems, is waiting in vain to hear her side. Not Igancio Bunye, but Pres. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo herself. Does she really think it will all go away in a few days? Unless she says something believable, or something at all at the very least, people will continue to wonder and question the legitimacy of her presidency.

At times like this, uncertainty and instability are not what we need. We do not need her to assure us. We require her to assure us. Whether she wants to or not, it is part of her job, as a public servant, to answer the charges hurled against her.

Whether the recording was illegally procured or not is not the larger issue. The bigger, more important issue is the legitimacy of her presidency. We want to know, we have to know whether the person serving us is the person we hired.

Is the end of GMA in sight?

The presidency of Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo is under question due to a series of incriminating wiretapped conversations with ex-Comelec commissioner Virgilio Garcillano that prove she cheated in the May 2004 elections.

A couple of weeks ago, GMA 7’s 24 Oras news show reported on a hostage situation in Pagadian, Zamboanga. And they kept on referring to it as the “Mindanao Hostage” situation. I am really pissed off at it because reports like it is a reason why a lot of people see the entire Mindanao island as an unsafe place to vacation or do business in. When people were murdered in Rizal, nobody referred to it as the Luzon massacre. This kind of irresponsible reporting make people think that the entire Mindanao is a place where bloodbaths, hostaging and kidnapping occur all the time.

In the little airtime that is given to Mindanao, each city or province is generalized or referred to as Mindanao. And most, if not all of it, is about bad news. People in Luzon and Visayas more about the Davao Death Squad than anything else about Davao City. They know more about the MILF, MNLF and the Abu Sayyaf than about anything else in Mindanao.

I am outraged by the fact that Mindanao is not given enough publicity and the little it gets is nothing but bad news. Why is it when a couple of bombings in Mindanao get people more frightened that the horrendous Rizal Day bombings in Metro Manila which killed much more people? It is because people hear ONLY bad news about Mindanao and nothing else.

Some people say that there is no such thing as bad publicity. I BEG TO DIFFER.