STRAIGHT FROM THE BIG CITY

Rising above politics
IKE SEÑERES

MANILA -- Some people might object to my advocacy of paying taxes, due perhaps to their political views. As far as I am concerned however, I believe that the government belongs to the people of this country, and to no one else. Whoever sits in the administration are just people who come and go, but what is important is that the State itself, and not just the government, is strengthened and sustained by the taxes paid by the people. This is not to say that I am not opposed to the imposition of certain taxes, which is beside the point and is actually another issue.

Politics and development would often clash in ideas and approaches, but what is important for people who are working for development is to rise above politics, in order to stay focused on long term goals, instead of being derailed or misdirected by short term political dynamics. This is also not to say that I am for or against the administration, which is also beside the point.

The initiative of the United National Integrated Development Alliance (UNIDA) to collect official receipts and copies of their tax returns from its members is actually a fund raising project also, because it is also intended to collect market data and consumer information from the entries submitted. It may sound amusing, but it will also collect a lot of recyclable paper that could also be sold to raise more funds.

Two sets of data could actually be gathered from the project. The market data will be useful for private companies, whereas the consumer information will be useful for the economic agencies of the government that are monitoring consumer prices. For whatever it may be worth, we might just develop a system that could parallel or support the computation of the Consumer Price Index (CPI).

On the issue of ownership, it could also be argued that no one ones the environment, except the people who live in this country. The waste segregation project of the UNIDA might redound to a good image on the part of the government, but that too is beside the point, because the people will be the first to benefit from better solid waste management.

Needless to say, the waste segregation project of UNIDA is also a means to raise funds. As an added benefit, it will also collect raw materials for another UNIDA project that will produce low cost building materials for shelter and education purposes. A corporate partner of UNIDA is already putting up a plant for this purpose, yet another example of integration.
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The issue is definitely debatable, but it could certainly be argued that most Filipinos are not used to obeying laws, simply because they have not been honed into exercising their civic duties. Perhaps it could also be argued that the behavior of people when it comes to obeying the laws is similar to reading the newspapers, meaning that it like developing a habit over a long period of time. Guided by this reasoning, the United National Integrated Development Alliance (UNIDA) will soon embark on a program that would hone its members in exercising their civic duties, so that they could build their habit of becoming good citizens in due time.

Although the program is primarily intended to produce a working model that would validate the “Civic Duty Exercise” (CDE) approach, it is actually envisioned to shoot three birds with one stone, because it would also solve specific social problems, aside from it being able to raise funds for the projects of the allied UNIDA organizations in the shelter, health, agriculture, peace and education (SHAPE) sectors.

For many years now, we have been trying to encourage our citizens to pay taxes, to vote regularly and to recycle always. As we clearly see it in the low tax collections, the low voter turnout and in the low volumes of segregated garbage, our encouragement is falling into deaf ears, indicating that our citizens are not doing their part as far as these three civic duties are concerned.

As a requirement for keeping their membership in good standing, members of allied UNIDA organizations will be asked to turn in their official receipts and to submit copies of their tax returns. This will validate the fact that they are paying their taxes properly. They will also be asked to “vote” regularly in opinion surveys and referendums. This will get them into the habit of voting, a habit that would ordinarily be difficult to build if they could only do it a few times over many years. Lastly, they will also be asked to segregate their garbage always, and to turn these over to designated collection centers.

As an incentive for members to comply with these requirements, they could win prizes in regular raffle draws in exchange for their official receipts and tax returns, they could receive discount coupons and promo items in exchange for their survey “votes”, and they could get points for their segregated garbage, redeemable in the form of grocery and food items.