DON’T BLAME SM: The recent fatal shooting incidents in SM North and SM Clark should not be blamed on the mall operator. There was nothing that SM, or even the police, could have done to prevent those explosions of personal grievance.
A determined assassin will trail and terminate his/her prey wherever the target happens to be when opportunity presents itself. That the killer cornered the victim in a public place such as SM should not be blamed on the mall operator, unless it is shown that he and the killer were in conspiracy.
Even United States presidents protected by layers of security have been shot at or shot dead in public places. It is that difficult stopping a determined assassin.
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VAT ON TOLLWAYS: What is it with President Noynoy Aquino that it seems he can no longer see or hear the widespread objection to his plan to impose the 12-percent Value-Added Tax on tollways on Oct. 1?
The mere fact that the government reportedly stands to get only about 3 percent of the 12 percent to be paid by tollway users (on top of the road users tax already being collected) is enough reason for the President to rethink this odd imposition.
He can gain valuable insight by listening to his “bosses,” including newspaper readers and radio-TV viewers arguing against the 12-percent VAT to be taken from tollway users and passed on to consumers down the line.
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CHEATING: Aureo Endaya of Batangas, among many other readers, said that tollway operators would be big liars if they claimed they would just be passing on to motorists the 12-percent VAT that the Bureau of Internal Revenue would collect from them.
Endaya said in an e-mail to Postscript: “Tollway operators . . . will collect 12 percent (from motorists) and pay the government only 3 percent by deducting their input taxes which before they could not deduct because they were not subject to VAT.
“The 12-percent VAT on toll is a blessing to the tollway operator but a curse to us motorists. The expressway is a public utility. At the most they should pass on only the 3 percent that they are paying the government.
“Our toll rates are already very high. In Malaysia, I was surprised to see the taxi driver pay only about P35 as toll for the more than 50-kilometer drive from the airport to Kuala Lumpur.”
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HOUNDING THIEVES: It is a daunting task, but it is reasonable to expect that President Aquino’s relentless campaign to smoke out and prosecute big-time grafters in the past administration will eventually land a number of them in jail.
Not all the suspects show it, but many of them could be losing sleep. The President’s crusade calls for having some corrupt former officials convicted by next year. That is just a few months from now!
“With a little cooperation from the judiciary, we may be able to jail those people by next year,” he told the Filipino community in Japan days ago. “We’ll make responsible those who committed sins so they would not be emulated.”
He cited some samples: the billion-peso coffee supply contract of the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (PAGCOR) and the sale of second-hand helicopters as brand-new to the Philippine National Police in 2009.
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SAMPLES: It is obvious that the Aquino administration is stepping up the momentum of its anti-corruption campaign.
Days ago, the Department of Interior and Local Government dismissed Leny Fermin, the treasury operations officer of San Carlos, Pangasinan, for allegedly embezzling P9 million of the city’s funds.
There was also former military comptroller Gen. Carlos Garcia who was bundled up and locked up at the Bilibid national prisons after President Aquino, the Commander-in-Chief, affirmed the general’s 2005 conviction by a military court for violating the Articles of War 96 and 97.
The Special Defense Investigation Committee recommended a probe on former defense secretary Norberto Gonzales and former undersecretary for legal affairs Arturo Valenzuela for not acting on the military court’s conviction of Garcia.
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MENDING DAMAGE: As the President has said, his administration is doing “everything to mend government institutions, systems and procedures that were damaged by the previous administration’s corrupt activities.”
Pursuing this severe and systematic crackdown on corruption, BIR Commissioner Kim Henares revealed that P5 billion in taxes was not paid by the Philippine Charity sweepstakes Office during the past administration.
Bayan Muna Rep. Neri Colmenares had also exposed multi-billion-peso PCSO anomalies that, he said, put together are larger than the botched $330-million ZTE Corp. contract and the P728-million fertilizer scam.
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DUE PROCESS: But many of these cases, long kicked around in media and in Senate inquiries, still have to be filed and proved in court. That should not be much of a problem if indeed there is evidence.
To gain wider support, the administration should be careful not to give the negative impression that its campaign is fueled primarily by seething hate and vengeance, and that it is selective.
Above all, there should be a respect for law, due process and the presumption of innocence enshrined in the Constitution.
And with the same zeal, it should recognize and reward upright, modest, prudent and hard-working public servants. Those who have proved themselves should be given responsibility in line with the public interest thrust of the administration.
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FOLLOWUP: Access past POSTSCRIPTs at www.manilamail.com. Follow this columnist at Twitter.com/FDPascual. E-mail feedback to fdp333@yahoo.com