Time to pay taxes

Be a good citizen. Pay your taxes. And the best time to do it is now. You help your government. And you help yourself.

Governments operate on taxes. The efficiency or effectiveness of a government depends on the taxes it collects.

Some people evade taxes in the hope they can bribe BIR later to be able to pay a lesser amount in income taxes.

In many countries, tax evasion is severely punished. People can get away with other crimes but not tax evasion. Remember Al Capone!

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We were in Bago City last December to pay our land taxes. Paying one's land taxes a year ahead enjoys a discount of 20 percent. You do it if you don't have enough money. There is saving.

If you figure it out, it is substantial. You will pay your taxes anyway. So, why not pay it now? Bago earns some P50 million a year in land taxes.

I was with Mayor Ramon (Monet) Torres who said, Bago is giving amnesty to delinquent tax payers of real estate.

He said if land taxes with delinquencies are paid before June 20 this year, it enjoys a 100 percent condonation of interests, penalties, and surcharges.

If paid after June 20 but before Dec. 31, 2008, the condonation is 70 percent, the Mayor said.

Land tax collection of Bago is quite efficient. But I learned, there are many land taxes not paid because of the CARPED lands. Bago has the biggest area of lands given to agrarian reform beneficiaries.

Many of them do not pay their land taxes.

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Malacañang and the military are reviving the national ID system. The main purpose, they said, is to beat the NPA rebels.

We agree. We cannot understand, why can we not have a national ID system. In most countries, there is this system. And it's not only insurgency that it can stop. It also is a big help in the fight against criminality.

And it makes transactions with government offices much easier. Even private transactions, too.

I could not understand the reason of the Supreme Court in declaring the move illegal when it was presented during the presidency of Fidel Ramos. It said, it was a violation of the human rights.

So President Arroyo made it compulsory to have all government personnel posses an identification card. We hope this time, government will succeed in having a national ID system.

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It is true, a national ID system cannot stop rebellion. But it will be a big help, especially because of computerization now.

In the 1850s, the Spaniards in Iloilo wanted to stop insurrection by having IDs for people in the form of a “cedula” or residence certificate. One must have a cedula. But before this they made a system to be able to identify what town he was from.

That was how in Iloilo , people's family names start with the first letter of the name of the town. Javellana, Jaranilla, Jaena, Japitana are from Jaro, Montelibano from Molo, Marañon from Manduriao, Abellar from Arevalo, Parcon and Pasquin from Pototan.

But the Spaniards made mistakes too. Those from Janiuay have their names start with “A.” May be the Spanish official heard “Aniway” or as the American GI's after Liberation would call it, “ Johnny Way .”

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In my hometown of Igbaras, there was another mistake. Family names start with an “E” not “I”. Esmeralda, Espiritu, Espina, Evidente… no one there has a name that starts with an “I”. It is claimed in jest, though, Eisenhower and Edison came from Igbaras.

Those from Leon have their names start with “C” like Cabarles, Capaque, etcetera. Leon was formerly called “Camando”.

Garin, Garingalao, Gargaritano are from Guimbal, Serag, Saratan, Sedigo, etc are from San Joaquin . Tigbauan has names start with “To” like Torres or “Tu” like Tuares or Tuvilla. But Tubungan which starts with Tu has the family names starting in “Ta,” like Tanalgo, Tagamolila, Tabingo, Tagaro.

This was true also in other provinces but not in Negros .

Interesting, is it not? But did it stop the insurgency? No!

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The equivalent in the 80s was the hamletting which was used by General Munding Jarque in his “Operation Thunderbolt” in Cantomanyog in the south.

Did it stop the insurgency there? No! Insurgency is more of a political issue than a military problem.

As long as there are grievances to be addressed, so will there be rebels. But will the rebels succeed? No, also. I talked with Amando Doronila who was here last week.

We discussed rebellion and revolution. Most of our rebel leaders are afraid to die, he said. If the Edsa Revolution of 1986 succeeded, it was because people saw the sincerity of the leaders, Juan Ponce Enrile and Fidel Ramos. They were willing and ready to die, waiting for Marcos to bomb Camp Crame . But the soldiers and the Air Force turned around and threw their support behind them.

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Let us go on with the national ID system. If you have not committed a crime, why be afraid to have an ID?

We hope this time, this move succeeds.*

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