I am a taxpayer. And therefore, I believe I have the right to complain. And express my sadness over this pork barrel scam.

In my line of business, brokers are charged the following:

Withholding tax – normally it is 10% . But when income is above P720k per year, it goes up to 15%. That’s automatically deducted by the developers from the professional fee.

Percentage Tax  – this is an additional 3% charge on a monthly basis based on the monthly earnings  if  income is below P1,900,000.00 per annum.

Value Added Tax   – if income is above P1,900,000.00 in a given year, automatically you will be charged 12% tax on your monthly income.

Quarterly Tax    – computation is based on the quarterly income less previous taxes paid.

Semi-Annual Tax – computation is based on the semi annual income less previous taxes paid.

Income Tax Return – computation is based on the yearly income less all previous taxes paid.

So imagine paying all these taxes in a year’s time for a billion Filipinos.

This totals to  several billions , if not trillions,  of pesos per year. Pesos which were supposed to go to road expansions, construction of farm to market roads, bridges, public schools, public hospitals, etc.

But instead, it went to our lawmakers’ personal pockets and bank accounts. Providing them mansions not only in the Philippines but also abroad, among other things.

Obviously, according to the news,  our senators and congressmen have a budget of P270M pesos per year. And instead of putting it in different projects, they siphoned off most of these monies into their personal accounts using  fictitious Non-Government Offices who supposedly won the bidding of “this and that” project. They’ve perfected this scheme for years already. Until the whistle blowers came out and gave an expose’ …

Unbelievable right? I find it so revolting because here we are, ordinary citizens, working our asses off and happily paying our taxes, only to find out that only a small portion of our money  goes to the real projects. While our lawmakers are partying abroad, living in their mansions, riding in their expensive vehicles, the masses have nothing to eat, can’t afford their hospitalization bills, can’t afford to send their children to school, etc.

I am writing about this because I am heartbroken. How did this happen? Why was this allowed? How could they eat escargot somewhere else when most Filipinos go to sleep hungry.

I’m sorry my friends for venting my frustration here. But as a Filipino, I would like to say that I too, am in favor of scrapping the pork barrel.

I am hoping that through social media, our lawmakers  would know that the public is watching.

To our “Honorable” Congressmen and Senators , please have mercy on our country and the Filipino people. Maawa po kayo, tama na…