THE mistakes keep piling up. If he keeps this up, President Aquino may soon see his popularity decline. The figures, in terms of Social Weather Stations (SWS) findings, may turn out bad for the President, and he may be in danger of being not as good as he once was. However, there is an indication that SWS has surveys showing that President Aquino not only maintained his popularity, but also bolstered it.
This explains his happiness with the SWS, with his being on the right track. (Malaca?ang actually celebrated this!) But you can either accept or dismiss this. I, however, feel that President Aquino is headed for another downgrade in his popularity numbers. Don?t believe the report that said inflation increased by only 2 percent. The rise in the prices of electricity, gasoline and water should refute that!
The case of Manny Pacquiao is a good example. On one hand, it?s a matter of following internal-revenue law. It is alleged that the boxer has not yet paid taxes to the government, prompting the Bureau of Internal Revenue and Commissioner Kim Jacinto-Henares to go after him. There is the question as to whether or not he paid the US tax, and the US has filed a case against him. The importance of paying the US tax lies in whether or not he can get credit for paying it and charge that to Philippine tax.
There is also the question of timing, which is, of course, atrocious, and the charge against Pacquiao is unfortunate.
I understand that the boxer has visited the President. From all indications, the visit was a virtual lovefest. It?s one thing to be friendly, but it?s another to excuse the oversight. Pacquiao?s friends in the House of Representatives have lined up behind him, and even proposed a measure exempting him from taxes. That measure is going to be passed if he can convince his colleagues that the oversight was unintentional. But there are rumors saying Pacquiao is a victim of another sickness?that is, he is addicted to gambling. Ugly rumors keep going around about his being kind to friends. Already there are rumors of his having lost a mint in the casinos of Las Vegas after the Barrera fight. He was supposed to have lost by betting against himself in the fight against Barrera and Marquez. This is not to say others have not benefited from him. The rumors say they benefited by betting against their charge, who happened to be Pacquiao. If the rumors are false, these should be denied immediately and be proven as such with admissible evidence.
As I said the last time, the President is made for higher things, and going after Pacquiao because of his tax liabilities is not one of them.
