Comments on: No Book Tax…

By: atbnorge

atbnorge — Sat, 25 Jul 2009 15:08:45 +0000

Mabuti na lang natigil ang pagpasa ng batas na iyan. Ano ang nais nilang mangyari sa mahihirap, magbasa ng pambalot ng tinapa? It reminded me of the time when I wanted to buy this hardbound Rainer Maria Rilke book at NBS but couldn’t afford it…Marami na nga ang nagugutom na Filipino, gugutumin pati ang isipan?

By: hill roberts

hill roberts — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 20:48:35 +0000

Buenas noches desde Espana, MM!
Democracy???What an overrated, over-used, overloaded word. Democracy impedes economic development. We need strong tactics to move our country forward.
And, you know what? I just realized that the reason why our country is moving rather “slow” because of staggered democracy is because Filipinos are a repetitious people.
Just take for example our national language, Tagalog/Pilipino:

1. pu-mu-pun-ta ?
2. na no no od
3.nag pa pa sa la mat
4.pi na pa no od
5.pi na pa nga rap
6.si nu su nod
7.hi ni hi ra pan
8.pi na pa yo
9.na ma man hi kan
10.tu mu tu long
Also, we Filipinos like to add more syllables:
11. mag “dream”
12.pamantasan – when “school” is quicker to say
13. drayber when driver is quicker to spell
14. nag wo worry
15. napakahaba ang conversation when “long” would suffice
I Mean, MM, we like going around the bend, or go around for a short cut and our national language says it all.
The longer we say the things we want, the longer it takes to do the simplest things, right???
I tell you what, are we a redundant people?
Democracy? Who needs it? Singapore here I come, Vietnam here I come, China, here I come.
“Ano ang ga ga win mo do on???
Hasta luego, y buenas noches.

By: Marketman

Marketman — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 10:15:52 +0000

hill, a loaded topic… but short of it is that perhaps some countries aren’t yet truly ready for a full democracy. As you say, we voted these folks in. Or at least a majority of folks voted these folks in. :(

By: hill roberts

hill roberts — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 08:10:50 +0000

Apologies…should read, “…Didn’t Cory Aquino appoint someone…”
All my comments are spontaneous…Sorry, guys.
Here’s another one: “…Quite so easy…”
Thanks, MM for your patience!

By: hill roberts

hill roberts — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 08:05:17 +0000

HI, MM,
Are you still in Paris? How about dropping by here in Espana and we can have a great chit-chat.
Now, on the topic of books…errrr, did I just read about the governor of California Arnold S. saying that books should now be banned in all schools since they cost the taxpayer almost US$300M?
Hmmm. When was the last time I read a “proper” book? Let me guess. I think a year after Bill Clinton published his thick autobiography. Yeah, that was the last time indeed. The hardbound books cost a fortune and to think one can sit down and read what you want to read while surfing the internet. With trial and error, I discovered you, Mr MM, and boy, what a pity I didn’t discover it soon enough. Still, I have now discovered you and your very informative and interesting sight and I would dearly love to see you rant and rave! Keep the anonymity intact…I like that…oh, the mystery of it all. As for our Senators, Law-makers who love wasting their time on stupid things, useless things, no-priority things, I’d just would like to ask who put them there in the first place? We guys get what we deserve. If we keep putting lousy,lazy, compromising, time-wasting politicians, we are bound to get lousy service from them. Without doubt, come national elections, the same rudimentary procedures will again happen. No need to take my word for it. Still, after having re-acquired my Filipino citizenship, I can now put my hand on my heart and say that there’s one guy who is tried and tested that I would vote for. But hey, things can change. Didn’t Cory Aquino appointed someone to be mayor of Makati? Fast forward to 21 years later: his daughter, his son, his cat and dogs are now part of the new oligarchs. Quite so easly to do it in the Philippines? Why again? Because folks there seem to keep voting for the same kettle of fish. Now, back to books. Let our young generation read books and feed their brains. Mabuhay!

By: romwell

romwell — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 01:24:57 +0000

book tax lifted please read above for details :)

By: romwell

romwell — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 01:24:23 +0000

https://abuggedlife.com/2009/05/24/unesco-replies-to-the-philippine-book-blockade/

By: jadedfork

jadedfork — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 01:40:15 +0000

IMO, the only way they could justify a book tax is if the money went directly into upgrading the public school libraries.

By: marissewalangkaparis

marissewalangkaparis — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 11:23:08 +0000

Yup MM!! The taxation on books really infuriated me and am glad they lifted that already. I followed that in the news. Ridiculous really—we should be encouraging the youth and general populace to read–it broadens one’s horizons.Only in the Philippines!!Someimes it makes you feel like there’s no future with all these insane laws!!! Hayyyyy….

By: Gin

Gin — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 15:58:21 +0000

Oh gosh. I once lived in the PI and I often forget how stressful and frustrating the random laws and rules were to me.

I suppose the next step is burning books already in the country, eh?

Why not put a tax on things that people don’t need for day-to-day life? I can think of a few things like alcohol, cigarettes and convenience appliances like automatic foot massages.

But what is the point of books when you have a big-screen television to watch your soaps and sex scandal news, eh?