Christmas bonus!

Thank you Mr. President for signing Republic Act No. 10653 which removed the tax requirement of our 13th month. This will surely bring more cheer and light up more homes this Christmas. Republic Act No. 10653 is an Act adjusting the 13th month pay and other benefits ceiling excluded from the computation of gross income for purposes of income taxation, amending for the purpose Section 32(b), Chapter VI of the National Internal Revenue Code of 1997. This means that our holiday bonus is not taxed anymore.  This is an example of how the President can do wonders to the lives of hardworking Pinoys.

Section 32. Gross Income – Exclusions from Gross Income states that the following items shall not be included in gross income and shall be exempt from taxation under this Title: (7) Miscellaneous Items – 13th Month Pay and other Benefits, Gross benefits received by officials and employees of public and private entities: Provided, however, that the total exclusion under this subparagraph shall not exceed eighty-two thousand pesos (P82,000) which shall cover: Other benefits such as productivity incentives and Christmas bonus: Provided, that every three (3) years after the effectivity of this Act, the President of the Philippines shall adjust the amount herein stated to its present value using the Consumer Price Index (CPI), as published by the National Statistics Office (NSO). I hope employees are aware of this as majority of wage earners and employers benefit from this law.

The country’s fixed income earners would have been happier though if the proposed bill authored by Rep. Miro Quimbo seeking the passage of a measure lowering the income taxes of private and government employees had been approved as well. The average tax of each employee under the present taxation system is about 30 to 32 percent depending on the bracket. This is very high compared to the tax required by countries around the world.

The incoming president of this republic or maybe a new republic will surely face many challenges but the most important assignment is to revisit the Constitution. The Constitution is the fundamental law of the land. It is meant to set up a just and humane society, based on the ideals and aspirations of the Filipino people. It also establishes national sovereignty over all of the Philippine islands. As such, it should be formulated for the common good of the citizens and not just of one person or entity.

We’ve been living in the shadows of darkness not knowing what lies beneath our Constitution. Many framers in the past and in the present have created a monster out of it shortchanging our countrymen.

The new president should either revisit it or throw it out to start anew. This priority will definitely bring a new spirit, a new beginning and give us that ray of hope we so much long for.

The end of martial law under the late President Ferdinand Marcos was really the first instigator of the people power revolution that ended up with the late Cory Aquino as President. It was during this time that the 1987 Constitution was rewritten supposedly to produce a better machinery of government. Now it is 2015 and we can see, in viewing various events in these timeline how the rise of corruption started to develop by deceitful people that manipulated the whole government administrative infrastructure.

The 1987 constitution defines clearly what the President, Vice President, Senators, Congressmen and the Chief of Justice salary should be. Article VI and XVIII clearly defines the conditions of these salaries. This is what the people of the Philippines understand and appreciate. What the people do not know is through legislative acts, an allowance system became part of this salary and most of it are “tax free” and partially accountable or at times non-accountable. Mind you, these allowances can be in minimum value of P500,000 per month. And here we are begging for less tax while our officials enjoy tax-free benefits. So the pretense that our voted politicians are badly rewarded is a myth and a deception that most citizens are not aware of.

Filipinos have been aware of corruption in government and it seems that we submit to such practices. The past presidents (Cory Aquino, Fidel V. Ramos, Joseph “Erap” Ejercito Estrada, Gloria Arroyo) and now President Noynoy Aquino have never made significant efforts and reforms to really sincerely counter corruption. The people continue to be easily bribed with monetary gifts as part of the deception to ensure the maintenance of power.

The exposure of the Napoles’ PDAF scam clearly revealed the greediness of the politicians even with the intentions of a “daang matuwid” administration. Not content with their official salaries and allowances, the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) was the engine used to tackle projects, supposedly projects for the constituents, but manipulated as massive plunder activities which was exposed in 2014 which wasted billions of the tax-payers’ money.

I hope that the Filipinos will take a stand using the 2016 elections as our platform for change. We’ve had enough of this outright deception in government that continues to produce plunders and corruption. We need to look for the best leader (weighing the pros and cons of each candidate) who we can trust to actually reform the whole machinery of government.

We need to unite and demand for a decent government infrastructure. We should reduce the percentages of our impoverished citizens. Our leaders should work to make our lives better. The rich people or investors are so naïve to understand that improving, supporting and upgrading the lives and career of people will lead to greater spending capacity that will further enhance the economy. Practices of contractualism, no job security, no proper wage remunerations, no proper health care (both hospitalization and medicines) for the impoverished, proper educational system and most of all the need for government to understand and act on the needs and priorities of the citizens should be carefully analyzed and corrected. These are all negative issues that the citizens of the Philippines want to be changed and reformed.

Here’s looking forward to a better tomorrow as we celebrate Christ in our lives. Let us continue to build that temple of Christ in our hearts by sharing and caring for one another. Merry Christmas!