AC Rooms in Cebu Gov't Offices Are Strictly For Authorized Personnel Only: Why Filipinos Feel Robbed By Taxes

I read a news article on the local paper today, and a big chain of store was to be shut down by the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) apparently due to unsettled tax obligations, but was aborted.

Question: Why is our country’s BIR so obsessed about running after “tax evaders” and “compelling” them to pay taxes?  Yes, it is a provision by the Philippine Constitution, that every citizen of the land is obliged to pay taxes.  On the other hand, taxes are supposed to be spent for the “welfare” of the people.

Question: If the taxes are supposed to be for the people’s welfare, then is it not logical that people should not run away from paying their obligations for their own welfare?  Logically, yes, people should voluntarily pay taxes to enjoy “welfare” from it.  Contextually, in the Philippines, people run away from it, due to the fact that the Filipinos feel like they are not enjoying the benefits of taxation.  Filipinos feel robbed by taxes.

Question: Shouldn’t the BIR prioritize their agenda in looking after where the taxes are spent, instead of running after tax evaders?  This way, taxpayers can rest assured that their taxes are well spent.  Every Filipino would want to make sure that each Peso paid to the government as taxes will definitely come back to the Filipinos in the form of welfare.

The 7 Wonders of The Philippines:
1.  Only 5% of the total population in the Philippines control its economy.
2.  Government Officials are served by the people.
3.  Consequently, people in the Government Service feel like they should be served by the people too.
4.  Transacting with government offices need to be a struggle of classes.
5.  The government will make it inconvenient for you to get anything done so you can find ways of making it easy...all possible through money.
6.  Getting a job alone is difficult.  When you get a job, completing documents from government agencies is 100 times more difficult.
7.  Each year, at least 1 Million Filipinos leave the country for better opportunities abroad.
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In a recent visit to some of our “respectable” government institutions, I was appalled at how the government staff treated the people transacting with them, who are the taxpayers.

I have to be blunt this time, and it was PRC and NBI that I needed to visit just recently.

Fact: Despite computerization, people still queue forever at NBI-Cebu.  Getting your NBI Clearance is like a mission trip to the moon.  If you are unlucky to be in a hurry, you have to find an alternative and get your NBI clearance in Tuburan, Cebu.  That's additional Ph280 roundtrip fare on top of the Ph115 clearance fee, and another 6 hours travel forth and back.

Transacting in NBI-Cebu and PRC-Cebu made me feel that I am of inconvenience to the staff who were working in these offices.  Both places were uncomfortable agencies to transact in, as we were in tremendously long queues without the benefit of comfort from air conditioning, as the most comfortable and air-conditioned spaces were “STRICTLY FOR AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL ONLY”.

In addition, aren’t the government personnel of our country trained how to be courteous and people-oriented at least?  As taxpayers, Filipinos deserve decent and comfortable government offices with friendly and people-oriented staff who really know and understand that the Filipinos are the ones paying their monthly salaries and their benefits.

Being in the government service, by definition, essentially means any government staff is supposed to serve the Filipino people and not act as if the people, who in essence are paying their salaries through taxes, should kneel down to deserve quality service.

We do not need too many staff in the government who only add burden to the monthly payroll and sit idly the whole day pretending to be too busy to really do their job right.  Filipinos deserve to have people in the government service who are smart and with service-oriented attitude.  We deserve quality over quantity.

QUESTION:  When will the BIR stop its business in running after tax evaders in the Philippines?

ANSWER:  Only when the Philippine Government really gives back these taxes for the welfare of the Filipinos who deserve only the best from their hard-earned money.

P.S.
The next time you queue in any government office, bring the ff:

• a callused heart, to get ready for insults from any of the government staff;
• a bottle of water, as you will definitely get thirsty with a long queue;
• a fan and sheets of tissue, as you will expect to stay in non-AC areas for long as you wait in queue;
• LOADS of PATIENCE, as you will hear a lot of grumbling around from people like you who will hate the Philippines more by all the inconvenience going on.

P.S.2

• Transact with the Philippines government offices every work day of your life, and you will finally realize that you are wasting your life and taxes in the Philippines. 
• FACT: While Koreans are flocking this country in huge waves, the Filipinos are planning their immediate flight out the Philippines every year:

STATISTICS From POEA 
Year 2008: 1,236,013 Filipinos left for employment abroad
Year 2009: 1,422,586 Filipinos left for employment abroad
Year 2010: 1,470,826 Filipinos left for employment abroad 

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