Tabloids and broadsheets have been earning so much upon capitalizing on the pictures and  news in many different angles about Janet Napoles and all the other politicians involved in the very hot and recent pork barrel scam.

Nowadays, the 24-hour rotation of the Earth seems to be incomplete without hearing, listening to and reading such news.

To some, it might just be another case of the whistle blower Jun Lozada but after a while Lozada seemed to have easily lost the magic of his wand to catch the attention of many people, and the ZTE scam has never been solved – not even justified.

But the case of Janet Napoles is something that might be a lot closer to the ordinary Juan dela Cruzes, who are paying their taxes faithfully and truthfully.

As a teacher, before we can even withdraw our salary from the ATM, or even back then, before we could even get our pay checks, our taxes have already been withheld and deducted. The BIR is in constant monitoring of our status whether as head of the family or how many dependents we have. We cannot cheat when it comes to our taxes because it is automatically deducted – though some may be complaining….but we abide.

We only have to wait patiently for our lawmakers to remember to give us salary increases – increases which we could hardly feel sometimes because taxes have already been adjusted that quickly.

Our recent Performance-Based Bonus was even taxed – which was greatly felt especially by those who received more because much more has been deducted from them with the same taxable rate.

Then, there comes a scam where you can actually see where some, if not all of our taxes go? To the pork barrel fund… to and for the delight of some?

Millions of our government pork barrel fund has been said to have gone to the NGO’s said to be run by and associated with some of our high ranking officials according to the newest whistle blower Napoles.

Is this where our taxes actually go? If such funds actually went out to serve the needs of the people, then there’s no problem. But if the fund only went to the bank accounts and purchases of some powerful and select people, then something must be done.

Let us hope that things regarding this latest scam will get clarified and justified. Let us hope for the truth to come out, so that our government can make better use of the taxes that we pay and we can maximize the benefits of sacrificing part of our monthly salary for the most authentic and the most immediate needs of every Juan dela Cruz.

 

 

By: Lyn S. Flores | Abucay North Elementary School | Abucay, Bataan