My repugnance went deep down into my bones on reading the case of a UST graduate who was abducted and murdered apparently due to no reason at all except drugs. Indeed, I cannot find a stronger word to express my disgust : imagine stabbing a helpless young lady close to fifty times. And so, I have now opted, at least for once, to use mostly Pilipino in this particular blog. Mas magaling kasi ako sa Pilipino kesa sa English, siyempre naman!
Maitanong ko nga, to begin with? Ano na nga ba ang ating ginagawa sa kasalukuyang panahon to solve the continung menace of drugs in our midst? Di ko maiwasang di maalaala si Marcos, noong panahong di pa kasing-lala ang ating problema sa drugs na kagaya ngayon. Di ba't iyong isang Intsik na napatunayang drug dealer ay ipinabaril ni Marcos sa Luneta? Di ba't for a long-long while after that ay nawala ang drugs sa ating kapaligiran. Ngayon, ano naman ang ginawa natin ngayong mas marami - repeat, marami, hindi iisa lang -- na drug pushers ang nahuli at nahatulan na ng bitay sa Tsina? Aba'y hndi baga't inutusan ng gobierno si VP Binay na magtungo sa Tsina at maglumuhod doon para huwag bitayin ang mga Pilipinong drug pushers -- na, of course, ay hindi naman pinagbigyan? Aba'y talaga bang hindi tayo magkaroon ng kaunting disiplina na tulad ng sa Tsina para putulin ang ugat ng bawa't mali sa ating paligid. Alas, it's unfortunate that we are instead continuing to denouce Marcos' times! This somehow calls to mind what Singapore's Lee Kuan Yu told to Ramos in their respective times: "You have too much democracy in this country!" To which Ramos simply kept silent.
Ngayon, ang higit na pinag-aabalahan ng gobierno ay ang alak at sigarilyo. Bakit nga ba? Aba'y dahil sa "sin taxes" kuno na kaakibat ng dalawang produktong ito. Wala kasi tayong iniintindi kundi puro newer and additional taxes, even as we continue to incur snowballing budget deficits year after year. Ang alam ko sa newer tax legislaton, ito ay paraan upang mapababa ang budget deficit ng isang bansa. Pero alin na bang new tax laws ang naka-solve ng ating problemang iyan. Di ba, we vowed to solve that when we first imposed the 10% Vat in Cory's time. We did not solve it! Then we included in the VAT electricity and petroleum products that the people daily consume -- which should not have been because there is no "value added" in their transactions. Wala rin, bokya pa rin tayo sa ating budget performance. Then we increased VAT to 12% -- indeed the highest in the region -- Bokya pa rin. Ngayon ay alak naman at sigarilyo ang ating pinagtutuunan. It is well settled that cigarettes and wines are bad for the health, hence there is the so-called "sin taxes." But as Cory said in her times, "tama na, pag sobra na." And truth to tell, to tax these products by an additional 907%, according to news reports, ay talang sobra na. If taxing the local cigarette and wine industry which only nets about P12-billion in profits per year -- that's according to Sen. Angara -- by an additional, repeat: additional, P60-billion annually is not the height of legislative stupidity, I do not know what is! And far more stupid it becomes given that Congress recommends only P33-billion, but the Aquino government wants P60-billion. What an insatiable greed for tax. Not only that, the P60-billion has already been included in the government's budget of more two trillon yata for 2013, even as continuing debates on it still continue in the Senate.Sana, kung ano ang sigasig nating itakwil ang alak at sigarilyo sa ating lipunan, gayon din ang maging sigasig nating ibasura ang drugs, which we all know, have been the root cause of manifold crimes in our midst and times.
Incidentally, sabi ni Pangulong Aquino, humigit kumulang: "I am for taxing cgarettes and wines to extinction but I cannot stop my smoking habit!" Ano ba namang klaseng pananalita ito ng isang naturingang Presidente ng bansa? Hindi iilan sa atin -- let's admit -- ang nakuhang makapag-alis ng pagsisigarilyo through sheer self-discipline? So, wala palang self-discipline si Aquino to remove his smoking habit, nay, smoking vice pala! We all know that self-discipline is among the essential attributes of effective leadership. Aba'y if the President cannot discipline himself into eliminating a vice that is as simple as smoking, how can the nation expect him to discipline those under him into following his much ballyhooed anti-corruption and "tuwid na daan" advocacies?
Naku, some of my readers may once again accuse me of being extremely anti-PNoy because of what I say. No, I'm not. I voted for him in 2010. It's just that medyo sising-alipin ako sa botong iyon, kahit na alam kong even if I had NOT voted for him he would have easily won just the same. At any rate, my hopes still run high he would learn to perform better before his term expires. 'Yan lang naman talaga ang tangining magagawa natin, hindi ba?
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