Last July 28, 2008, Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo had her 8th SONA (State of the Nation Address). One of the things she highlighted was Value Added Tax (VAT). She said that collection of VAT has strengthened the trust and confidence of international investors and finance community in the country. With that, she is absolutely right. We have seen the recovery of our sick economy. The peso got stronger, from 56Php it became 40Php until it reached 44Php per dollar. “Take away VAT and we strip our people of the means to ride out the world food and energy crisis…”, Arroyo said. I think she should revise this statement, it is better if she sad, “Take away VAT and you strip my means to ride in the ship of wealth and power”. Despite the good things VAT has brought us, we can’t deny the fact that those in the position got more than what they should get in the sense that they have more money to put in their piggy banks. Corrupt officials are rejoicing because they have more to steal. She also pointed out that VAT helps our country to have enough fund for the programs for the people. It is absolutely true; VAT is one of the primary sources of government funds. But in what I see, VAT helps those alligators in the government to have more funds for their luxuries. Speaking of funds, she mentioned that she allotted Php3 billion-the largest anti-graft fund in our history. She allotted that huge amount for hunting corrupt officials, which means she allotted that money to hunt her down. Instead of allotting that money for those tings, why can’t they just allocate that for education and public health?
There are many decent proposals, productive projects and excellent policies, but the problem is the people behind financing and implementing.
No comments:
Post a Comment