Is it a sin to text?

When the history of this country covering this generation is written, there will be two names that will be mentioned and credited for a lot of the confusions and upheavals of our days. Their names will appear, but none of us have seen them, or are likely to see them at all. What are their names? They are Mr. Jose Velarde and Mr. Jose Pidal, two of the richest men in the country today.

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Perhaps people in Bacolod and Negros Occidental should be more patient as far as the new airport of the much-touted international standards is concerned. Just think of another airport, I mean terminal, in the country that has been standing there for about five years now in ghostly silence, with not a single aircraft whirring overhead. We are talking about Terminal 3 of the country's international airport in Manila that has been scheduled for inauguration several times now but has never seen one yet.

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The NAIA 3 terminal also shamed its contractors when the ceiling over its entrance collapsed shortly after an announcement of an inauguration was made. Just a day or so ago, some solons went to have a look-see at the new terminal that is five-years-old or more already, and instead of getting gungho about opening it, they only saw more reasons to further postpone any opening plans. According to the reports published, cracks were seen on some walls and even on beams, which they attributed to an earthquake a few years ago. Then they also noted that some floors were bulging, and, naturally were not even. Well, we should be glad that what was found was not some pockets of those in charge bulging.

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Seriously, though, why do we – at least some of us in the media – get the feeling that there is some smoke-screening going on with regards to the potential bidders for the transport companies or individuals interested in operating shuttle services to and from the new airport? This is something that is of great interest to Negrenses and Bacoleños, and I hope all of us prospective passengers will keep our eyes open, our ears and noses keen to sniff out anything fishy that may be going on. It's not farfetched, you know.

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Is it a sin to “text”? Do we have to confess it? There are now serious proposals in this country to impose a tax on sending messages through one's cellphone, which Pinoys have described as “Texting” and most other countries call SMS, or short messaging services. The move to tax it comes from the same school of thought that has tagged alcoholic liquor and tobacco as occasions of sin that should be hit with what they call “sin taxes”.

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The argument of those who want such tax slapped on us is that this could be a rich source of revenue for the government, to be piled on its take from the abominable extended value-added tax, or the cruel E-VAT. Have these people no mercy on their fellow Filipinos? Already, many are staggering under the imposition of the E-VAT. Now they want to make unaffordable the convenience of texting which, for all we know, may have eased the pangs of E-VAT somewhat. And one of the proponents had the gall to say that, anyway, SMS is only being used for useless communications and spreading chismis. Anyway, I'm glad to note that such officials are now being swamped by, yes, text messages, begging, imploring, requesting, warning, and even threatening them to desist!

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But why is the President herself not coming for the inauguration of the new airport? We know Vice President Noli de Castro is being given more exposure now that potential candidates are popping up all over the country. But it seemed to me that Madame Arroyo had been very interested in the project before. Maybe she was miffed because she could not cut any ribbon yet when she came last year. Maybe she also is afraid she would be choked by the dust she saw on the highway there when she came. Surely she knows the road is said to be finished and smoothened already? I also hear they are rushing to put up the lights before January 18. I just hope they make sure those lamps are not as dangerous as the ones they installed in Cebu for the ASEAN meet, that caused what pundits call “kuryente” to some officials with itchy fingers and long fingernails there.*

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