The price of popularity

My. The Bureau of Internal Revenue must really be getting fangs now. Imagine, it is now running after a very high profile showbiz family, and charging them for tax evasion. Shown on TV yesterday being summoned to the BIR offices were Eddie Gutierrez, his voluble wife, Annabelle Rama, and their very well-exposed and allegedly very wealthy daughter, Ruffa.

***

The Gutierrezes allegedly have not been paying the proper amounts due from their very lucrative businesses, and this had been noted by the BIR, hungry as the agency is to meet its targets, and prove itself worthwhile. Maybe the BIR remembered to look into the accounts of the family because of the very obvious quest for publicity of the famous daughter, a former movie personality, and a third placer in a Miss World contest.

***

Remember that Ruffa recently staged a fund-raising activity for the victims of the Leyte landslide. The project gained her so much publicity and drew attention to the designer and imported wardrobe she auctioned off. The clothes reportedly cost millions, both in pesos and dollars, and in Turkish money, too. A keen-eyed BIR man, watching that show, must have thought those behind it probably have so much money, they should share some with their country.

***

How strange that the issuance of the Pastoral Statement of the country's bishops on the so-called People's Initiative to amend the Constitution, should take place on the same day that an official of the Commission on Election also released to the media reports that dead and ghost signatories had been discovered in at least two provinces in the country where a campaign for signatures had taken place. In one place, the wife of a dead former councilor was found to have signed for her late husband. In another province, 12 percent of the signatories were reportedly not registered voters of the place where they signed up. The Comelec official asked not to be identified. For obvious reasons, naturally.

***

In the meantime, the Commission on Audit has firmed up its earlier findings on the alleged Fertilizer Scam, by releasing its findings on the questionable disbursement of P728 MILLION shortly before the elections in May 2004, to certain local government units. The COA said there were indeed irregularities in the manner that the money was released for the project called Ginintuang Masaganang Ani (GMA), because it was done in what it called a "circuituous manner".

***

It said P547 million was transferred to local government units, non-government organizations, and Public Organizations. Also, the fertilizers were allegedly purchased from "exclusive distributors" and, what's more, they were the sort being used for ornamental plants, and not for the staples, rice and corn. This was gathered from alleged beneficiaries of the fertilizers. The COA report also added that, up to now, only 59 percent of the amount has been liquidated, meaning, has been accounted for with appropriate vouchers and receipts. Hmmm…

***

Will the New York Times feel bad about it? There seems to be an attempt now in the Philippines to belittle the clout of the NYT after it published an article that was quite unflattering to the present dispensation, authored by one of its top writers, Seth Mydans. To make matters worse, the Times followed this with an editorial called "Dark days for Democracy in the Philippines". Apparently trying to make light of the matter, and show his literary bent, our loyal man in the United Nations came out with a pun, saying the item viewed the country "Through a Glass, Darkly".

***

Well, say the Palace people, the NYT is not that influential, anyway. Of course not, maybe less than two hundred people read it regularly in Manila. The question is that its items are also carried by the International Herald Tribune that, well, goes around internationally. I think, even our Manila Bulletin carries it. Anyway, so what? If it does not bother the Palace, why should it bother us?*

back to top