Things to ponder what Mar did when he was a senator, not mine , I think he failed as a DILG secretary pero marami syang nagawa, I still believe his competent enough inde lang masalita, sorry this is just a copy from someone, read before you comment
I am doing one last Walang Nagawa si Mar piece and I'll make it the longest one yet because there seems to be a perception that he is not pro poor and has only done things to make the rich people richer. (Coming from an already wealthy family himself)
So let's start with RA 8179 - An act liberalizing foreign investments. You know how a few months ago you were going crazy about Telstra finally coming to the PH? Remember how you were going on about how you were happy that some foreign company was finally going to make all our internet lives better? What if I told you that the fact they were able to do that resulted from a bill Mar Roxas wrote years and years ago? How about the fact that the influx of foreign investments over the last decade stemmed from this bill? Right, wala nga syang nagawa para sayo. Ok.
How about RA 8748? An amendment to The Special Economic Zone act. The amendment empowered the PEZA board which Mar later used to great effect as DTI Secretary to usher in the expansion of thr BPO-IT industry. This is a very technical bill but has ramifications to almost everybody who reads this. As, DTI secretary/Peza chairman, Mar pushed for the inclusion of Economic IT Enterprises in the Peza category. This made it easier for an avalanche of tech, call center, BPO and financial companies to penetrate the Philippines and employ millions upon millions of Filipinos. This is one of the main reasons why the BPO-IT industry is now second among the total wages in the entire nation. Yun lang naman nagawa nya. Maliit lang na bagay yun. Not impacting you right? (Well, maybe you're wrong there). Pero sige, yan lang nagawa nya.
We also have RA 8759, the Public Employment Service Office, The PESO act established strategic job assistance centers at local government units to help people seek out job opportunities. Think Job Street for people without internet. This act allows for people in disadvantaged situations to seek out job opportunities with their local government units. Most likely, you don't know about this because you got your job through online job sites. But you know who this law is designed to help? It's people in the remote areas who do not have the means to go on regular job hunts because they have mouths to feed at home. But you're right, this doesn't affect YOU, so fuck it, right? You are here for you.
The next one is my favorite because I have been a beneficiary of this. RA 8756. An act incentivizing MNCs to establish designated ROHQ's in the Philippines. It is famous not only for the flat rate tax of 15% but also for the fact that this led to an influx of Foreign Institutions establishing regional offices here in the Philippines employing millions of Filipinos. You know how AIG, JP Morgan, QBE, MacQ and other foreign companies were able to flourish and make the salary market of jobs in the tech sector competitive? He wrote that and sponsored it. Half the people on my friend list are direct beneficiaries of that. But hey, wala daw ginawa si Mar para sa kanila.
We also have RA 9504, an act exempting minimum wage earners from income tax. Self explanatory pero malamang hindi ka minimum wage earner at wala tong nagawa para sayo to. So malamang walang natulungan yung batas na to right? Logic lang naman gamit natin dito e.
How about for car owners? The Lemon Law act that added a lot of protections to the car consumer. This includes allowing the purchaser to demand refunds for Lemon cars. Meaning defective cars. Wala ka kotse? Ok so hindi nga nakatulong sayo si Mar.
Here's a doozy, RA 9502, or the Affordable Medicine Act, basically everytime you asked for a generic brand in the drug store, everytime you have been allowed to purchase cheaper medicines in the pharmacy. That was because of Mar. Pero hindi ka nga nagkakasakit di ba? So malamang hindi ka nakinabang dito.
Friends, democracy and government is not just about you and what you get out of government. Malamang nga kahit sa dami daming nilista ko dito, wala pa rin nagawa para sayo si Mar. Pero hindi po ikaw lang ang iniisip ng gobyerno. Hindi lang ikaw ang tatamaan ng mga programa ng gobyerno. Huwag mo isipin na ang pipiliin mo na Presidente ay kelangan may gagawin na para sayo talaga.
Crime is a problem but every problem has many solutions. True Liberals all over the world will tell you that treatment is a more effective weapon against drugs. Gun regulation is an effective deterrent against gun related crimes. Stronger anti money laundering laws and stricter regulations on the financial industry reduces the movement of dirty money within our financial system making it difficult for criminal empires to flourish. Reduction of poverty and job creation is effective in crime reduction at the C, D and E income levels. Revitalizing the farming and fishing industries will encourage people to stay in the provinces and slowly depopulate our overly populated urban areas.
But change is slow and a tortorously long process. It won't happen in 3-6 months and it will not be the government that will completely solve all our problems. It will be a collective effort between people, the private sector and the government.
We are all intelligent voters. We are all discerning jndividuals. Put that discerning mind to use. Get off social media and do what I did, google. I have been on government sites more times in the last 4 months than I have been in my entire life. I don't even trust media to give me the truth anymore. I discovered it for myself, so should you.
Find YOUR truth, and then make YOUR choice.
