Top 20 Individual Taxpayers in 2009

The Bureau of Internal Revenue gas release the names of the highest taxpayers for 2009. They are

1. Manny Pacquiao - the boxing legend
2. Elaine B. Gardiola - well-known DPWH contractor
3. Ronaldo Soliman - with business in real estate
4. Rainero Borja - BPO pioneer
5. Lauro Baja Jt. - UN Ambassador
6. Willie Revillame - Wowowee host
7. Francisco Guerra III - Do we know this guy?
8. Kris Aquino - Who does not know this flamboyant lady?
9. Patricia Zobel de Ayala - sibling of Jaime Augusto and Fernando Zobel of Ayala group
10. Manuel Zamora Jr. - Philex mining investor
11. Danding Cojuangco of San Miguel Corp.
12. Manuel Pangilinan of PLDT
13. Bea Zobel de Ayala Urquijo of the Ayala group
14. Gigi Chio Ibasco - engaged in construction business
15. Manuel Lopez of Meralco
16. Christopher Salcedo Co - ?
17. Justo Aboitiz Ortiz of the Aboitiz group
18. Piolo Pascual - a famous actor
19. Ramon Ang - president of San Miguel Corporation
20. Federico Lopez - again of the Lopez Group which includes Meralco

Well if you are wondering why some famous names in Philippine politics, business, and entertainment are nowhere in the top ten, well marahil andon sila in the top 100. Pwede kasing bumaba and income nila for 2009 o kaya talaga namang kunti ang income nila as individual pero ung mga kumpanya nila ang nagbabayad ng mas malaking buwis.

Hay naku, if only everybody pays the correct amount of taxes.
And if only the government uses every centavo of the collected taxes for legal expenses at hindi ito naibubulsa. But this another story.

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Entreprenuership

Pwede nga bang yumaman ang isang mahirap?
Syempre naman!

Pero pwede nga bang yumaman ang isang mahirap sa malinis na paraan?
Oo, syempre.

Paano?

Ang Sagot ko dito ay hindi lamang sipag at tiyaga sa pagnenegosyo (entreprenuership)tulad ng sinasabi ng isang pulitiko. Kasama rito ang swerte at tamang paghawak ng pera.

Ito ang aking pananaw. Kahit masipag at matiyaga ka, kung sakitin ka naman, iyong perag naiipon mo napunpunta sa paggamot mo. Paano ka yayaman? Isang pang halimbawa. Paano kung mataas ang suweldo mo o kita mo pero nilulustay mo lang sa pambababae o pagsusugal o sa iba pang bisyo, paano ka yayaman?

Mayroon akong matagal na kakilala. Matagal syang nagtrabaho at naghusay sa isang motorshop. Nagtayo sya ng sarili niyang repair shop. Iyong mga dating customer niya sa boss niya ay lumipat sa kanya. Ngayon mayroon na siyang malaking bahay at maraming sasakyan.

See? Mayroon pa akong isang halimbawa, isang probinsyana na nagtayo ng isang maliit na tindahan sa isang palengke sa Quezon City. Pinalago nya 'yong tindahan na yon. Ngayon may bahay na siya at sasakyan bukod sa nabili niyang sakahan sa probinsya at pinapag-aral ang mga anak sa pribadong paaralan.

Kayo, mayroon ba kayong kakilala na yumaman sa malinis na paraan?

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My Dream Beach Destinations in the Philippines

The following are the beaches in the Philippines that I want to visit before I die:

1. Motyong Beach in Casiguran, Aurora (Luzon)
2. Gota Beach in Caramoan, Camarines Sur (Luzon)
3. San Vicente Beach in San Vicente, Palawan (Visayas or Luzon?)
4. Malapascua Island in Daanbantayan, Cebu (Visayas)
5. Alona Beach in Panglao, Bohol (Visayas)
6. Caliocan Island in Guiuan, Eastern Leyte (Visayas)
7. Dakak Beach in Dapitan City, Zamboanga Del Norte (Mindanao)
8. Dahican Beach in Mati City, Davao Oriental (Mindanao)

If only I were a rich man like Manny Villar or Henry Sy, I would invest a lot to develop these beaches and make it as popular as Phuket in Thailand or Hawaii and thus creating thousands of jobs. In this way, there would be less Filipinos "na naliligo sa gitna ng basura!"

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Change

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo is the daughter of a former president. If Noynoy wins in this coming election, we will have another scion of a former president as leader of the land. And then in 2016, we will have Mar Roxas as the next president - another scion of a former president. After him, it would be the turn of Kris Aquino. And then she would be followed by Jinggoy Estrada and then Bongbong Marcos and then in the distant future, we would have President James Yap Jr.

And you call this change?

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Baby James Yap endorses Manny Villar for President

Usap-usapan ngayon ang ginawa ni Baby James Yap na pagbanggit sa pangalanng Villar noong kampanya ng Liberal Party sa Bacolod City. Syempre abot langit ang tuwa ni Manny Villar sa ginawa ni Baby James Yap. Ayon kay Villar, hindi nagsisinungaling ang bata.

Click nyo ito para mapanood ang video sa youtube.

Baby James Yap endorses Manny Villar for President

Ayan kasi pati mga bata ay ginagamit sa kampanya!

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4th Gawad Haydee Yorac Awardee

When many Filipino doctors and nurses choose to leave the country for that proverbial greener pasture abroad, a distinguished physician have chosen to stay and serve the rural folks. His name is DR. KADIL M. SINOLINDING, JR. of Kabacan, North Cotabato.

Dr. Sinolinding is the 2009 winner of the 4th Gawad Haydee Yorac Award. He is a well-known eye specialist whose "Vision 20/20 Cataract Charities Project" has helped thousands of people in Mindanao. He was a graduate of West Visayas State University in 1989. In 2000, he was chosen as one of the Ten Outstanding Young Men (TOYM) of the Philippines and in the following year, he received the award as one of the Ten Outstanding Young Men of the world. Later on, he was selected as one of the five heroes for Pfizer Philippines.

He has children – Josh, Thianne and Khalil with his wife, Ma. Elena Paz Unson. Recently he was appointed Regional Secretary of the Department of Health in the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (ARMM). For more informantion, see http://www.meralco.com.ph/gawadhaydeeyorac/home.htm

Congratulations Dr. Sinolinding and may you become an inspiration of selfless service to all Filipinos in general and to more medical practitioners in particular.

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Corruption in the Philippines

Ask any Filipino whether based here or abroad if they want corruption. Of course no Filipino in his right mind would ever say he or she wants corruption. So then why is the Philippines considered one of the most corrupt countries in Asia? Are we not also the only one of two christian nations in Asia?

Corruption is evil. It deprives the people especially the poor of badly-needed money for services. It drives away investors and it limits the economic growth potential of the country.

Just a while ago, I went to help in the store of my sister. One customer asked if we could change the amount in the receipt. The actual amount is only 108 pesos but she wanted us to write instead 112 pesos. I asked why. She said she needed that 4 extra pesos for her benefit. Thank goodness she told me the truth. But of course this is a form of corruption.

I told my sister about it and she told me that the customer is a teacher! Of course I did not give in to the demand in a nice way so as not to antagonize the "valued customer".

Well this is not to say that teachers are corrupt. There are many teachers who are really honest.

In another instance, the delivery boys asked us if we could get an extra box of snack food for cash. I knew right away that the extra box was taken out of the supplier's warehouse without the owner's knowledge. (Naipuslit nila). If not, the delivery boys could just return it. Why are they selling it for cash and not include them in the purchased items?

My point here is that corruption does not happen only in government offices. It happens everywhere even at home!

"Hindi ako magnanakaw". (I will not steal).

This is the campaign slogan of Noynoy Aquino. Honestly I think this is more of a gimmick to attract voters than a real personal advocacy of good governance. Yet even if we give him the benefit of the doubt, the question is can his relatives say the thing? What about his supprters who are mostly former government officials and former cabinet members of Gloria Arroyo at that?

For Noynoy to promise no corruption when he wins the presidency is surely the hallmark of a traditional politician. It can not be forgotten that during presidency of his mother, the term "Kamag-anak Inc." was very popular to denote the voracity of the members of the powerful Cojuangco-Aquino dynasty.

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The Meaning of Easter

Easter refers to that particular Sunday in March or April when Christians celebrate the resurrection of Jesus. While some Christians believe that the foundation day of the Church is on Pentecost Sunday, many believe that the Church was actually founded on Easter Sunday.

So great is the importance given to Easter Sunday. This is in recognition to the truth that if Christ has not been resurrected, the christian faith is futile, as St. Paul has written.

But what is the meaning of Easter to the individual Christian? Personally, I believe that the most important message of easter is that life does not end in death. That there is life after death on earth. It means that Jesus have shown that death has no power over us, that there is no reason to fear death, that there is no need to be feel insecure, and that in the midst of the darkness of this world, we are still the children of the light.

Does the message of Easter rings a bell to our everyday life as Filipinos? When hopelessness permeates the whole fabric of the Filipino psyche due to poverty, corruption, and divisions, Easter shows us that there is the proverbial light at the end of the tunnel. It brings us to the realization that only by dying to ourselves can we truly experience the power of the resurrection.

Easter is basically a message of hope. When we are about to give up on our ideals and dreams, Jesus invites us to reflect on his selfless act of giving Himself for others. When everything else seem to fail, we look up to Easter Sunday and reclaim our right as heirs of the Kingdom of God. Let us remember that when Jesus died on the Cross on that infamous Good Friday, his disciples became very fearful. Yet when they heard of his resurrection, they became very fearless.

Happy Easter to everyone.

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Visiting Metro Manila Churches

Like many other Catholics, I also observed Holy week by visiting at least seven churches around Metro Manila. With my nephew and houseboy as my companion, we went "church-hopping" on Good Friday.

At the outset, I explained to my companion the nature of "Bisita Iglesia". Alas, my explanation did not sink in. Even if I keep on telling them to behave well and to just pray inside the church, there they are holding on to their gameboy and cell phones. From time to time I have to "shhhh" them because of their loud whispers. On hindsight, I am still grateful that they came with me rather than stay at home and play the whole day.

Anyway, I consider visiting different churches as a way of spiritual renewal. Although our stay in one church is brief, at least it was prayerful. It has been a long while that I last meditated and I have this weakness of falling asleep when I say very long prayers or listen to long sermons.

What did I pray for? Well I prayed for peace of mind, peace at home, peace in the Philippines, and peace in the whole world. I also prayed for honest, orderly, and peaceful election (HOPE). Of course I did not forget to pray for guidance that my next career move would be successful.

Here are the photos of the churches we visited:


This was our first stop: San Sebastian Church in Manila. With its unique architecture, it is one of the most beautiful churches in the Philippines.


The Benedictine Church near San Beda College along Mendiola.


Saint Jude Church near Malacanang Palace along Laurel Street. This church is always full of devotees of Saint Jude every Thursday.



The background is the Shrine of Mary, Our Lady of Peace on the boundary of Mandaluyong City and Quezon City. Beneath the shrine is the church that was put up on the site of the bloodless revolution in 1986 that toppled the regime of former President Marcos. The event is now called the EDSA I Revolution. On the same site, President Gloria Macapagasl-Arroyo took her oath of office after then President Joseph Estrada moved out of Malacanang during the so called EDSA 2 revolution.


Above is the 5th church that we visited: the church of the Our Mother of Perpetual in Baclaran, Paranaque City. One of the most popular church in the Philippine which is always full of pilgrims every Wednesday.


The Church of Jesus - the Way, the Truth, and the Life located near SM Mall of Asia.



It was already evening when we reached our last destination: the Malate Church above. The Malate Circle, in front of the church is, as usual, full of people.

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