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People are ill-informed on VAT |
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DEMAND AND SUPPLY
By Boo Chanco The Philippine Star 05/09/2005 The stalemate in Congress over the VAT measure reflects the national mood. The latest opinion poll numbers of Pulse Asia reveal a lukewarm to cold attitude towards the proposal to add two percent to the VAT rate currently being charged. A majority (54 percent) told Pulse Asia that they have little knowledge about the VAT issue. And 62 percent said they think the additional two percent would have a big impact on their family’s expenses. No wonder the political party in power and in control of the Senate is hard pressed to get five senators to support the compromise proposals being tabled at the conference committee. Even administration senators are careful that their vote would not be politically expensive. They must be aware that the public sentiment is one of cynicism, if not outright distrust of government and people in power, in the matter of judiciously using their money. In fact, when Pulse Asia also asked their respondents to list down conditions that would make them support the administration’s proposed tax measures, this cynicism is revealed. On top of the list is: 1. if government reduces corruption and waste in spending, or in other words, leadership by example; 2. if its negative impact on the poor is not too large; 3. if government first removes tax exemptions for favored corporations and sectors of the economy; 4. if the BIR and Customs improve their revenue collection; 5. if it is needed in order to fix the government’s fiscal situation and avoiding further borrowing. Note that the first item on reducing corruption and waste generated a 68 percent response. The one on the need to fix the government’s fiscal problem only generated 35 percent. To me this means people are willing to sacrifice but would rather see their leaders use their hard earned money more responsibly. And yes, please collect from Richard Gomez and all those showbiz millionaires. It is scandalous that they paid nothing on the years they had recorded incomes in the millions. On other matters of current interest, Pulse Asia also found out that a near majority of 44 percent think that the Arroyo administration will fall without military support. But only 22 percent think we need martial law to solve the many crises of the nation. And despite everything we see and experience, a large 60 percent disagree with the statement that our country is hopeless. Only 26 percent want to migrate, a surprisingly low number given anecdotal evidence to the contrary. If I were Ate Glo, I would take these figures very positively and use these as a basis of an honest to goodness program to reform and get moving. Pulse Asia uncovered empirical data to show that the Filipino is a patient and forgiving people and there is always the opportunity for a leader to turn a difficult situation around and get support. That is about as positive as I could get on the Pulse Asia numbers. Top Colleges There is a material circulating among various e-groups that supposedly ranks the country’s top 20 colleges and universities based on a study conducted by the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) and the Commission on Higher Education(CHED). The ranking supposedly used the average passing rate of graduates of colleges and universities in the board examinations of all courses that require it for the practice of a profession. This study is now supposed to be done every 10 years. This particular ranking is supposedly the result of the first study from 1992 to 2001. Eleven schools come from Luzon, two from the Visayas and seven from Mindanao. My problem with this material is that I am unable to confirm it independently. I checked the website of CHED and didn’t find it there. I tried sending an e-mail to CHED, to the address published in their website, but it bounced. Still, for whatever it may be worth, I want to share this list with a wider audience if only to provoke some discussion on where one could get quality college education in this country, given problems with education pre-need companies and family finances in general. If the basis of this listing is authentic, it tells us that one need not spend a fortune in tuition and other fees of the so called exclusive schools in Metro Manila because there are a lot of good schools out there in the countryside. This is an important consideration for parents who live in the provinces and who are probably agonizing on whether to mortgage the family home to raise the funds needed to send a child to college in Manila. The most expensive university in Metro Manila is not even in this list. So maybe, given the difficult financial situation today, sending the kids to study in Manila is not necessarily a good idea any more. There are good schools out in the regions. I also believe good students would do well anywhere provided they have a serious desire to get a good education. There is even one college on the list from Butuan that I have not heard of, and it did better than La Salle. The better Ateneo is in Davao, not at Loyola Heights. Of course the top university in the list is UP Diliman, which makes me feel good. I am happy to note that contrary to what I hear in many circles, the quality of a UP education is still tops. Then again, the overall standards might have gone down too, but that’s another story. So, here it is, but with the caveat that I decided to use it even without independent verification because of the urgency of helping parents who are making up their minds now, a few weeks before school opening time. The list sounds plausible enough. 1. University of the Philippines (Diliman Campus/Luzon); 2. University of the Philippines (Los Banos Campus/Luzon); 3. University of the Philippines (Manila Campus/Luzon); 4. Silliman University (Dumaguete City/Visayas); 5. Ateneo de Davao University (Davao/Mindanao); 6. Ateneo de Manila University (Manila/Luzon); 7. University of Sto. Tomas (Manila/Luzon); 8. Mindanao State University (Iligan Institute of Tech/Mindanao); 9. Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila (Manila/Luzon); 10. Saint Louis University (Baguio City/Luzon); 11. University of San Carlos (Cebu City/Visayas); 12. Xavier University (Cagayan de Oro/Mindanao); 13. Mindanao State University (Main/Mindanao); 14. Urios College (Butuan City/Mindanao); 15. Polytechnic University of the Philippines(Manila/Luzon); 16. De La Salle University (Manila/Luzon); 17. Mapua Institute of Technology (Manila/Luzon); 18. Adamson University (Manila/Luzon); 19. Central Mindanao University ( Bukidnon/Mindanao); 20. University of Southern Philippines (Davao/Mindanao). Malampaya Ed Manalac, Chairman of PNOC, sent me a SMS text message in response to my text message seeking a reaction to the Malampaya developments. Manalac, who was in Houston last week, responded that he actually supports the decision of the Privatization Council not to sell anymore the 49 percent interest of PNOC-EC in the Malampaya consortium. But, Manalac adds, he is nevertheless frustrated by the turn of events. He points out that the Privatization Council actually approved the sale two weeks before the meeting that NEDA Secretary Romy Neri attended and resulted in the withdrawal. Yet, Manalac laments, Neri was represented in the meeting which gave the approval. It is on the basis of the prior approval that PNOC went ahead and informed Shell and Chevron. The two oil giants in turn, decided to exercise their right to match the offer of the Korean group. If they did not get the prior approval, Manalac said they would not have gone ahead with the deal. The withdrawal subjects PNOC to potential law suits and worse, loss of face. This is the problem with cabinet members having more things on their plate than they can handle. They end up sending juniors to meetings that require their presence. In this case, it is obvious that whoever represented Neri was not qualified to represent his boss. How can anyone miss the fact that they are seeking approval to sell an asset valued at $21 a barrel at a time when the prevailing market price was in the vicinity of $55 a barrel? Luckily Neri caught what could have been a full blown scandal. I hope he knows what to do with whoever represented him and failed to catch that one. Change Of Heart Speaking of change of heart, here’s Dr. Ernie E’s take on it. A young guy was complaining to his boss about the problems he was having with his stubborn girlfriend. "She gets me so angry sometimes I could hit her," the young man exclaimed. "Well, I’ll tell you what I used to do with my wife" replied the boss. "Whenever she got out of hand I’d take her pants down and spank her." Shaking his head the young guy replied, "That doesn’t work. Once I get her pants down I’m not mad anymore." |
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