Duty

Tax is the blood of a country. It sustains the purpose of the government.

According to the Bureau of Internal revenue, only five million people file their income tax returns out of 39 million people in the labour force.  This leads to chronic budget deficits and poor delivery status of basic services in the country.

Now that the country’s agency collecting taxes is under a new administration and with a promise to run after tax evaders, hopefully the coming years’ government budget will be enough for better services for the people.

The agency just announced that they are now able to investigate the offshore bank accounts of Filipinos as the government tries to clamp down on tax cheats. This is an additional power that will help catch these tax cheaters.  They are also waging a ‘name and shame’ campaign by filing criminal charges against high- profile personalities and companies suspected of cheating the government out of taxes or import duties.

As a citizen of this country and as a Filipino, it is our duty to remit tax and be under the law concerning the matter. Let us not be one of the shameless freaks, who ignore their duties and responsibilities in our land. Let us not be self- centered. Let us always remember that paying and remitting taxes, is one way of showing patriotism in a very quiet manner.

Think

The church’s power over the government is undeniably strong and can never be ignored. The church still dictates the government, although not directly but its stance, opinions and standing matters.

The pending Reproductive Health (RH) bill in the chamber of Congress, challenges the ties between the government and the Catholic Church. The new president expresses support for the right to contraception but the powerful church is against it.

According to the Catholic Church, the contraception is against the law of God. They argued that it is a type of abortion which is banned by the Philippine Constitution. In contrary, the Philippine law is generally considered to protect a couple’s right to use birth control.

The government believes that through this bill, the ballooning population of the country will be controlled. In one of the news in yahoo said,’ Supporters of contraception have argued that rapid population growth and high fertility rate have exacerbated crushing poverty, and the birth control could be a powerful way to raise living standards’.

In one of the interviews of the president while he is the United States, he suggested that his administration would be very willing to distribute contraceptive to poor couple who couldn’t afford it. This stance angered the Philippine Catholic Church officials.

One of the members of congress said in a press conference, “The Church can always protest; that is the right of the Church. But the people have already spoken that they are in favor of the RH bill. Let the Church take care of saving our souls but let the State pursue unhampered a policy of saving lives”.

He also added, “Neither the Church nor the State can compel the people or the faithful to use a particular form of family planning method. It is the option; it’s the decision of the couple particularly the women who bear the brunt of pregnancy and childbirth. So I think the Church should understand that freedom of informed choice. No one is being compelled.”

Filipinos are generally Christians and the voice of the church is important for them. These differences between the government and the church on the issue of contraception will measure the influence of each institution to the public.

In our generation today and with the population that rise up in very second, the methods endorsed by the church can never guarantee that it will help control one of the biggest problems of the country.

With the hope that it will reduce the high fertility rate, the pending RH bill is mainly and the only effective bullet needed of our country today, to address the population problem that is considered to be the main contributor of the lowering living standards of Filipinos.

Let’s us be wise this time. It is not our faith that is in question in this matter, it is our conscience. Are we willing to sacrifice the lives of millions that are now in slums and suffering, just to favor a teaching that has been written thousands of years ago? It’s not that I’m questioning the teaching of God, but I’m just being realistic enough. I think it is no longer applicable in our generation; that teaching was preached when the world was still young and the people can still be counted through our fingers.

Let us not be selfish. Let us not just think of our own. It’s time to think about the people, our people; Filipinos.  

First Shot: Believe

As a developing country, Philippines continuously strive for progress and advancement. We can never be compared to well developed countries from the west and some here in the east, but at least we are striving.

The new government is a proof that the country is in full throttle in realizing its dreams to uplift the country from poverty and reclaim its glory that has been stolen by other Asian countries, almost half a century ago.

Benigno Simeon Aquino III, the newly elected president of the country just arrived from United States after a weeklong official working visit. Together with him is a secured US$2.4 billion new investments that would create thousands of new jobs for Filipinos plus US$434 million granted by the Millennium Challenge Corporation for social welfare programs.

During his stay in America, he was so true to his statement that his priority will be the official agenda of the trip which is the betterment of his people. His schedule was so packed that one point he had 13 meetings in a day.

Compared to his predecessor, who was reportedly spent thousands of dollars for a dinner, PNoy enjoyed American comfort foods like hamburger, hotdog and pizza. When he arrived in San Francisco, the president and his company ate at the In-N-Out burgers at the holding area of the airport. He was also seen eating hotdogs at the streets of New York City that caused quite a stir.  

Many criticizes the President for his gestures, that all of these low profile actions are just publicity and very much scripted. But if you are going to look and feel the sincerity of the top ranking official of the Philippines, you’ll realize how true he is with his words and how sincere he is with his actions.

Despite of the efforts being done by the new government, many are still very negative about it. They keep the criticism on, that gives negative impact not just to the government but to the whole Philippines as well. It creates a negative stigma that can never be erased.

As a response to this negative criticism, PNoy always urged people to support his drive for progress and continuously believe in them.

As a Filipino, I wholeheartedly support the new government in its efforts and drive for progress. Negativity has no place at this moment. I may not be as big as the president, but a simple trust and belief, is a key in every nations success.