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IS it
still on?
I refer
to the regular auctioning of vehicles in
Subic.
You know
what I mean, right?
Subic
has been the acknowledged auction capital of the
Philippines,
if not the entire Southeast Asia.
Vehicles
of all shapes and sizes, all makes and models are
auctioned in Subic with alarming regularity that people
can’t seem to do anything but shrug their shoulders.
Why,
because millions, if not billions, of pesos are lost to
unscrupulous people at the expense of the government—and
the people.
Meaning,
instead of the government earning more revenues, it’s
the smugglers and all kinds of shady characters who
always end up laughing their way to the bank.
We all
know this malady has been with us for decades now, if
not for ages.
Since
the 1986 Edsa People Power, it hasn’t waned one bit.
Almost
every month, if not once in two or three weeks, it’s
right there, at our so-called doorstep.
The
dirty rich benefit from it time and again.
The car
companies in the country suffer from it time and again.
The
vehicle parts and manufacturers companies in the country
suffer from it time and again.
Car and
parts-production companies lose a combined nearly P3
billion a year in gross income.
They
come to us regularly to air their plaint. All we can do
is assure them that we will do our part: write about
it.
The rest
is government action—supposedly.
Unfortunately, government action hardly comes. If it
comes at all, it is but a farce.
What has
been achieved with that so-called wrecking of the luxury
vehicles “confiscated” in Subic a while back?
It’s
nothing but a comedy. A moro-moro.
Were the
people duped?
Nope!
They knew it was only for show.
What
were destroyed were “luxury” vehicles minus the
insides. Meaning, what were smothered by bulldozers and
wrecking crews were cannibalized vehicles: all but the
frames—or so I was told—were left to be dispensed with.
The engines, radio and other objects of nearly priceless
parts and materials have been spirited away the night
before.
Who did
it, the people knew.
Who did
they fool?
As the
saying goes, “You can fool the people some of the time,
but not all of the people all the time.”
Of
course, the government suffers from these auctions time
and again.
What a
pity, indeed.
We love
to say that we used to be No. 1 in
Asia, even much ahead of
Japan,
in terms of economic prosperity and growth.
Not
anymore.
But our
leaders couldn’t care less.
We are
still No. 1 in growth and progress—but only those in
power are; never the governed.
God have
pity on our land.
Nearly
P2 billion in lost taxes makes the government appear
like a beggar when it accounts for its reserves and
coffers every fiscal year.
Revenues
accruing to government vaults are consistently siphoned
off into the hands of thieves that are, woe of woes,
allowed to prosper and, most of the time, if not almost
of the time, go scot-free if and when an apprehension is
held at all.
Why?
Because—alas and alack again!—our own government is
widely believed to be part and parcel of the racket.
Many in
the government who are supposed to not allow such
operations are believed to be deep into it.
Meaning,
they know the ins and outs of the
Subic racket, but they always turn a blind eye, if not a deaf ear,
to all the crying and wailing done by the people.
Why,
they are not only part of the problem. They themselves
author the problem because they benefit from it by leaps
and bounds.
There is
a saying that once you get appointed to a revenue-making
branch of government, don’t waste your time and start
immediately to hack it away.
Enrich
yourself as fast as you can, for you will never know
when you’ll be sacked—or how long those you know will
be in power.
Your
tenure comes and ends with the appointing power.
So,
going back to the Subic auction thing, whatever happened
to that palabas shown on prime-time TV about
luxury cars being demolished?
Any
sequel to that?
Or has
the smuggling been stopped in
Subic?
Nope! In
fact, any day from today, another one could be in the
offing. A mole of mine has said so.
There is
a law about this, as this country has never been short
of laws to protect the government and the people from
shenanigans.
But
whether or not they’re being implemented to the
hilt—that’s the so-called 64-dollar question.
Meanwhile, what’s your pleasure, Porsche or Ferrari?
Pee
stop:
Cheers to Subaru for sponsoring the 2008 Executive Road
Cycling (XRC) tomorrow, February 23, in Parañaque City
for the second-straight year. Truly, a worthy Subaru
project chiefly initiated by the tandem of Motor Image’s
Nicky Mariano and Ariel de Jesus. |
