Stop stealing

Ben Contreras

HOUSE Bill 4774 seeks to impose addition excise tax on fuel that would result in additional cost of around P3 per liter to motorists and end-users. Using the reduction in personal income taxes as a consideration for its passage is missing the point.

Reduction in personal income tax may sound like heaven, but (1) it benefits only a certain sector of our society which is the wage earner who could hardly cope with the real cost of living; (2) it won’t matter to those who are earning much, much more than their real needs; and (3) it won’t matter to those who have no income, the jobless.

But a P3-per-liter increase of gas will hit all of us–the haves and the have-not, more so, the destitute, the poor. And the effect can be devastating since it would have a domino effect on other commodities and services.

To increase taxes is to generate money for the government. Is the government cash-strapped? I don’t think so. The government is awash with cash but the money is just going to the wrong pockets. Government agencies are not collecting the correct taxes because of corruption.

The Duterte administration’s campaign against corruption is still wanting if you hear it from the businessmen. The President is still being hoodwinked by the very people around him.

Many believe that Duterte is our only chance for greatness. Many don’t want him to fail. But he will if his men continue to destroy his plans for the country.

The need for a stronger middle class has been a long time dream. To alleviate the life of the poor is a never-ending struggle. Equal distribution of wealth can never be achieved if the rich/oligarch continues to control everything income people’s lives.

Commodities to sustain a decent living should be made affordable to every Filipino. To those who have less in life should be shielded from any burden like more taxes.

A community of happy people with jobs, enough food and livable/decent shelters is a community that’s livable and crime-free.

To our lawmakers who are thinking of more taxes: “Bawasan nyo na lang ang nakaw.”

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With all the heavy equipment of UKC, it shouldn’t be very difficult for this construction company to do something about the temporary pathways on both sides of a bridge in Opol. It is the condition of these pathways that makes vehicles move like snails.

Our authorities should also disallow left-turns to the coastal road area during peak hours. To allow this would hamper the movement towards the city.

More RTA personnel or traffic aides should be deployed to Opol to manage the traffic movement.

The reason why it sometimes takes more than a few hours to travel a relatively short distance is plain to see. It takes initiative and innovative thinking to manage the traffic congestion.