We beg to differ.
I have been fortunate enough to have been invited to the Rotary Club of Manila by its President Rudy Bediones at the Manila Polo Club, August 29, 2013. The Rotary Club of Manila (RCM) has a long tradition of inviting excellent speakers, many of which come from their esteemed membership. The motive for me was…
Tax evasion should not be a criminal offense anymore in the Philippines. After all, some of the country’s public servants, those who blatantly steal taxpayers’ money, do not get prosecuted or go to jail. It is even quite baffling how members of Congress made a big deal out of former Chief Justice Renato Corona’s undeclared…
Droves of tax-paying citizens flocked to Luneta and other public areas around the Philippines on Monday August 26, 2013 (coinciding with National Heroes Day) to protest the “Pork Barrel” scheme and allegations of corruption perhaps triggered by the recent exposure of P10-B Napoles Pork Barrel scam. The event was largely mobilized through the social media…
There’s lot’s of argument surrounding the fate of the Priority Development Assistance or “Pork Barrel” Funds already flying about. Should legislators be allowed continued access to all those billions of pesos in taxpayers’ funds? The answer to that had already been settled under the really simple principle — that executives execute, and legislators legislate. Quite…
Read More “Taxpayers’ money will continue to be wasted even if Pork is spent honestly” »
Again, following an eleventh-hour announcement from President Benigno Simeon “BS” Aquino III that he is espousing abolition of the Congressional pork barrel, people continue to debate the wisdom of this move. The same lame arguments come up — “Who gets control of where the monies will be spent? How does this affect the various projects…
Read More “Executives execute, legislators legislate: Scrap the pork barrel” »
The number of Filipinos who are getting fed up with Philippine President Benigno Simeon “BS” Aquino III is definitely growing. As Churchill would say, he has all the virtues they dislike and none of the vices they admire. Granted, there are still those who are in denial of the likelihood that BS Aquino personally benefits…
Read More “PNoy’s reason for keeping the PDAF is weak, pork barrel should be abolished” »
As indignation-fuelled momentum mounts in the lead-up to the planned “million people march” to the Luneta Grandstand at 9 a.m. on the 26th August, Monday, the obvious question What happens next? comes to mind owing to the immense challenge of bringing erring senators and House representatives to justice. The scale of the outrage over the…
I would have to say that the outrage being shown at the persisting pork barrel anomalies – at least in social media as far as I can see – is both unprecedented, and quite frankly, a bit astonishing. There are calls to assemble at the Quirino Grandstand in Luneta on August 26, 2013, to call…
Read More “Questions that must be answered before the rally to abolish pork barrel” »