Send them to Myanmar

The May 12 issue of Time Magazine has on its cover pictures of the 100 most influential people in the world picked in an online poll. Alas, not a single Pinoy is among them. Not even our president, who had been named by another magazine before among the most powerful? Maybe the Time pollsters never looked our way.

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Thank God, the Myanmar Junta has finally condescended to allow aid form other countries to come in. News last night said that the United Nations plane carrying enriched biscuits had already landed. But there seems to be another bureaucratic problem. The military Junta members are saying that they will accept the aid, but not the foreigners who will distribute them. Hmmm. So it will be their own men who will handle the distribution? That’s very suspicious.

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The Philippines, like a good neighbor, has also announced that it is sending assistance in the form of medical personnel. Since we do not even have enough rice for ourselves, we cannot send food. So it will only be doctors and nurses. Hey, I have a bright idea! Why don’t we send the doctors and the nurses who were involved in the Cebu rectal surgery case? That could be a way for them to atone for their heartlessness, and at the same time, they will have a chance to really serve their fellowmen.

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I wonder if the medical team we are proposing to send will be able to bring medicines and medical supplies as well. These would be very necessary if they are to be of any use. They cannot rely on the supplies of other countries, and asking from them may entail a lot of red tape. And if they cannot bring medicines, all they can do is to give moral support, and make our government spend more money on their transportation, accommodations, and allowances. By the way, if we do send the doctors from the Vicente Sotto Memorial and Medical Center in Cebu, please warn them not to perform any operations there.

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As for our other neighbor, Malaysia, who got fed up with the delay in the so-called peace talks with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front that they have been monitoring since 2004, it looks as if they are intractable in their decision to say goodbye to the task. Our officials were hoping that the arrival here of the Malaysian Foreign Affairs Minister would ensure the retention of their team, but it is still No. Minister Rais Yatim, in very skillful diplomatese, told our leaders that the pull-out of their men “will give an opportunity to both groups to re-evaluate the issues under discussion in the context of the press process.” That’s rather ambiguous, but it must mean “No” because their first batch is leaving today already.

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If our government does not want its people to think that it is as heartless as the Junta of Myanmar, it should hurry up and suspend, or even cancel the imposition of the unconscionable Extended Value-Added Tax, or the infamous E-VAT on oil products. That law was passed over the lamentations and protestations of the people, who had to bite the bullet for two? three? years now. But their sacrifice seemed to be for naught, our finances have not improved, we are still heavily in debt.

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A report Wednesday said that lifting the VAT on oil will mean at least P5 less per liter. That could be a very big help to families, and by doing it, our officials will be able to show that they are not like the Junta who didn’t respond for a long, long time to their ravaged citizens, but that they care, and they do not look at us only as statistics. I think it is as simple as that. Just remove the VAT.

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In the meantime, Indonesia, another neighbor in Asia, is withdrawing from the powerful and prestigious OPEC, the elite organization of oil producing countries, because its oil sources are drying up. This was confirmed by Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono himself. That is probably why Iran has warned that the price of oil may reach $200 per barrel soon. If we are still stuck with the VAT when that happens, as the wags say, “Patay tayong lahat (We’d all be dead)!*

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