We were born on the 4th of July... Not June 12th!

For our special guest tonight on our talkshow Straight from the Sky, we bring you Cebu's first woman governor, Gwendolyn Garcia, who will give us her first year report and her thoughts about the current political crisis facing the president...after all, it's already been a year since this obscure Theresian came into the political scene and took the cudgels of political leadership in the province. Of course, her entering the political arena was not without incident...and a year later, we are still in the midst of finding out whether there was massive cheating in the last elections or not.

But what cannot be denied is the fact that all gubernatorial candidates in the last elections supported Pres. Gloria Arroyo, while her principal rival only had a token candidate. It is for this reason why we Cebuanos challenge those who dare say that we cheated in the last elections to check the Certificates of Canvass so that the truth will surface. So watch Gov. Gwen Garcia on SkyCable's channel 15 at 8:00 p.m.

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If you've already forgotten your history, today is the 59th Anniversary of Philippine Independence... after all, America gave us our independence on July 4,1946 and it was the first time since the Americans grabbed the Philippine archipelago from the Spaniards that the American flag...a.k.a. Old Glory was lowered at the Luneta and the Philippine Flag was proudly raised. Sure, there were places that Old Glory still flew in this country, like the US military facilities in Subic Naval Bay and Clark Air Force Base. But it doesn't diminish the reality of our finally being called an independent nation.

Of course, during the administration of Pres. Diosdado Macapagal, the father of Pres. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, he struck a deal with then Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo and changed Philippine Independence Day to June 12th. To my mind, this is a gross error of history...as Gen. Aguinaldo's call for Independence was only heard in his hometown of Cavite, where he raised the Philippine Flag in his own residence in Kawit. With communication still backward, no one in Cebu even knew that Gen. Aguinaldo did such a thing.

But the fact remains, that when Gen. Aguinaldo raised the Philippine Flag to claim Philippine Independence, the rest of the Philippine archipelago was still very much under the hands of the Spaniards, while American troops were busy getting them out. Hence, I still argue that when Pres. Manuel Roxas raised the Philippine Flag on the 4th of July in 1946, that flag raising was also repeated throughout the Philippine Archipelago and hence, the Philippine nation was born. Alas, someone wanted to change our history and perhaps that's one of the reasons why we are so politically cursed these days!

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Just when we thought that gasoline prices would have been increased by close to P3 pesos per liter...the Supreme Court comes to the rescue and slapped a temporary restraining order against E-VAT. While the Arroyo administration vigorously pursued this bill and enacted it into law, it is now apparent that no one cared to look at the impact or effects of the E-VAT into the nation's economy. Sure, I fully agree that the E-VAT is a great leveler...meaning; it taxes everyone regardless of their social status. But in the end, the E-VAT should have been implemented in phases...if at all.

Take the case of the prices of gasoline. I really don't know why this was included in the E-VAT when it's effects would have fuel prices increased by as much as P3 pesos per liter! We already know that when gasoline prices increase by a few pesos, militant jeepney groups would immediately go on strike...how much more when they slap a P3-peso VAT on it? I understand that the Supreme Court has given BIR Commissioner Guillermo Parayno 10 days to answer the petition by various groups and oral arguments would be heard on July 26th. Well, let's just call this a breather.

I clearly understand the reasons why the Arroyo administration was hell-bent on pushing for the E-VAT; after all, our cash-strapped government needs the revenues it can get. However, a great majority of the citizenry is opposed to the E-VAT for the reasons that we've already written in the past. But for me, the best reason why we shouldn't raise taxes is simply...there's too much leakage in our government coffers. Indeed, too many of Congressmen are out of the county traveling abroad and expenses like that cuts deep into many projects that get stalled or worse, get cancelled for lack of funds. What about corruption in the government? Ask any taxpayer and they'll tell you how much it hurts seeing that corrupt officials still get away with stealing our precious tax money! If only all our taxes are collected and none are stolen, we won't need any E-VAT!

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For email responses to this article, write to [email protected]. Bobit Avila's columns can also be accessed through www.thefreeman.com