Abalos’ call for people power vs illegal drugs is correct move

Barely a week as new head of the Department of Interior and Local Governments, Secretary Benhur Abalos announced that he will be wielding “people power” among the youth, parents, schools, churches and communities against “illegal drugs” and other social ills. An indication that he is deeply aware and correctly understands that a whole of barangay level approach would immediately isolate and drive out these drug people. At the same time, these will stop future drug users in every community.

The idea of relentlessly pursuing drug related cases in courts is hampered by present lack of witnesses against the drug suspects. By mobilizing the barangay officials to testify in every drug case in their areas, all their mayors and governors will be encouraged to monitor these ongoing drug cases to its logical conclusion, conviction and jail terms for drug dealers and their cohorts.

Also tested here would be the political will of this administration in finally removing all PNP scalawags who “protect” these drug syndicates from smuggling to street distribution. PNP Director for operations PMajor Gen. Valeriano de Leon is highly optimistic that this “new strategy” will end or at least minimize the country’s drug problem to a manageable level in six years.

Come to think of it, the people should really unite now, once and for all,   against all forms of “illegal drugs”, and perhaps the BBM-Sara tandem’s winning slogan  of unity should be applied here. And perhaps, later we could also go after all other criminals, scammers, physical or digital who continue to victimize our helpless citizenry.

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FILE ESTAFA CASES VERSUS PANTAWID PAMILYA RACKETEERS

I am hoping that DSWD /secretary Erwin Tulfo will file the necessary charges against all  unqualified Pantawid Pamilya beneficiaries for receiving  benefits and defrauding the country of necessary government funds. Around nine hundred thousand from a total of 4.4 million 4Ps beneficiaries were discovered to be “well off , using the cash assistance for gambling or liquor.  Some have pawned their DSWD cash cards to loan sharks who regularly collect their P1,200 to P1,400 monthly  assistance with a 30 percent interest. This is a very clear case of “estafa” and condoning them runs counter to the law.

BBM’s directive was to cleanse the almost a million recipients wrongly chosen by previous  National Household Targetting System for Poverty Reduction or Listahanan.  In three to four weeks, these leeches  will be replaced by new beneficiaries under their new waiting list. Remember that in the distribution of “ayudas” for the COVID pandemic the past two years, the number of really poor but “unlisted” people in barangays, municipalities and towns, surfaced.  This was also the time when DSWD discovered  “well-off” 4P families who continue to receive benefits even if their children already graduated from school.’

However, I have reservations on Tulfo’s  proposal for  “lump sum” distribution of 4Ps fund to beneficiaries to allegedly give them “capital” for small businesses. A better idea perhaps is provide free TESDA training for these families for simple but on demand jobs, like  masonry, carpentry, plumbing, electricity maintenance  and other technical courses.  These will surely ensure the uplifting of their families within or outside their neighborhoods.

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TAX FACEBOOK, GOOGLE, OTHER FOREIGN TECH GIANTS  NOW

After so many years of free ride, it is now time for non-resident foreign tech corporations doing business in the  country to  pay their rightful taxes. Other countries in Europe like /Austria, France , Italy, Spin , Turkey and UK have implemented a digital service tax (DST), varying on “online advertising”, digital interface” and “data transmission”. But here, the digital VAT bill still sleeps in Congress.

Just open your You Tube, FACEBOOK , TIKTOK, GRAB or SHOPPEE accounts anytime and one gets barraged by promo video clips, ads and and other pop-ups, like what we saw before on our television sets. Billions of pesos of TV ADS then shared by ABS-CBN and GMA-7 has moved to these global tech giants and escaping the BIR’s grasp because of Congress failure to enact a tax law.

Albay Rep/ Joey Salceda insists that P154-B in incremental revenues over five years could be realized in his proposed digital economy tax bill. This would cover imposition of value added tax  on digital services, such as digital advertising, subscription-based services  and other online services that are delivered on the internet.

Of course, these tech giants will  claim international tax treaties for lesser digital taxes with our Bureau of Internal Revenue, especially those the US government protecting Google and Facebook . Perhaps you will understand now why this badly needed “digital VAT  bill”  never passed approval in our very own Congress for the past administrations even if other countries have been successful. Must we thank our congressmen, senators and past Malacañang occupants who allowed this non-tax imposition on digital services?  Of course not!

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