Playing with Fire
Salute Pnoy on sin tax law
By Gonzalo Duque
WE – son Nanoy and yours truly – are grateful to our brothers in the broadcast industry – and the whole media community – for a distinct privilege.
We both recently passed the KBP accreditation exams… congratulate us… ahem… ahem…. yahoo!
No, we are no stranger to broadcast. But what made our KBP accreditation meaningful (to us) is the high ethical practice the organization imposes on the members. Marakep, agagui.
You know, when we were entrusted the presidency of the Pangasinan Press Club, we took aim immediately at what ails the media in general. What did we see? Hmmm, amta yo la seguro. Ethics, lack of it. Or abuse of it.
We found out that it was in the practice, not in the skill of the practitioners that’s making the industry controversial.
In the media circle, such derogatory and naughty words like “pitpit,” “taliban,” serosis or cirrhosis or disease of the liver, referring to practitioners who hop from one politician to another doing a “liber liber” are common. These strike at the heart of what ails the industry. This is the reason, in consultation with pillars of the industry like our publisher Ermin and neighbor columnists Jun and Al, we have seen to it that we had to do something about the ailment, to raise our practitioners’ public esteem. It’s a common view that we have many bright people in the media, but that some are backsliders, you know what we mean. Sana if we could straighten things up.
Yes, we have to factor in social status. Yes, we agree, but if we are guided by a rule of conduct, values, principles, if we value what people say about how we carry ourselves in public, even in private, we really wish we could watch our back all the time and hear everything (the ground has ears, you know) about what people say about us.
And so in our entry, our formal entry, that is, in the KBP, we shall endeavour to help in a way in the upgrading.
Salamat ed balon oportunidad, dear colleagues. You can expect a modest contribution from our end.
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Let’s congratulate President Noynoy and his “alalays” in Congress for the monumental legislation on the sin tax bill.
We know how tough it is for him to give up smoking, but it’s there for all to see. He moved things. Now, we could all see, there is now higher tax on smoking and drinking.
It’s mostly the poor who will benefit from this. It will work like forced medicine. It’s the poor who easily get addicted to sinful habits and it’s also they who will suffer the most at the cost. You’ll learn more of this during the holidays.
Because of the prohibitive cost of corrective medication, it’s time to effectively curtail the vices. It’s good for everyone. We understand the proceeds will go to the delivery of health services and eventually public education. We bow to President Pnoy and Senator Franklin Drillon for the passage of the law.
A great day for the majority of our people.
* * * *
This column is on record the first to write about the Mayan prophecy in Pangasinan. It does not mean though that when we lifted a column of Jaime Licauco from the Inquirer about the alignment of the planets allegedly marking the end of the world.
Agaylay karakel kunoy ontatawag tan mantitext ed sicato lapud sayan misinterpretation.
As you know the Mayans had the reputation of having contact with the supernatural, and they were experts in predicting the future. That was several thousands of years ago. Kaya medyo kabado tayo, agagui.
Most Frenchmen and Russians these days are anxious, some already packing up to some safe places.
Pwera galaw, agagui. Nalilingo ray Russian tan Frenchmen no iisipen dan baleg ya delap ya singa nen panaon nen Noe so onsabi. Many born- again pastors are saying it would be in the form of fire, not water to usher in the end, God forbid!
It would be best, whether today, tomorrow or forever that we pray, because we do not know, no one knows what will happen anytime. Aratay pikewet so kagagawa ra, amta ra deep in their hearts, ta walay ebaten da ed Diyos ya amalsa. Andi la tay korte, ta nasaliw iray lalasi.
It’s really our hope that those who have sinned against their fellowmen will now repent while there is time.
Asinnger la agagui. As John the Baptist would shout to the top of his lungs, ”REPENT!”
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A certain candidate for councilor in Dagupan City behaves as if he could outfox everybody in his own political party… He should be careful because he is surrounded by wolves. Pitiful because his party mates pity him his ways might result in his becoming a tail ender. Kababaing ta maong nimet so nanlapuan to… Former MMDA man Alex de Leon says Vice Mayor Belen Fernandez needs a good, personable point man in Pantal…
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