Taxes, Infested Rice, Embalmed Fish, and other (in)conveniences under Duterte's Orderism

Taxes, Infested Rice, Embalmed Fish, 

and other (in)conveniences
under Duterte's Orderism

It seems that the reforms brought about by the Duterte administration brought miser than upliftment as the regime be trying to insist the justness rather than address its flaws.

Quite reasonable at first that the financial reforms brought about by Duterte and his cohorts is meant to raise funds for big-ticket projects. However, knowing that every cost of commodity continues to increase, then it is worth to say that the government harasses people, be it those of a smallholder whose institution end lumped with the rest who have abused government tax incentives, what more of a consumer whose earnings fail to meet daily needs as costs of goods and services skyrocket from few hundreds to a thousand such as in the case of Chili peppers. At some point there are those who insist that this calls for stringent measures such as encouraging people to save or invest their earnings which yes, sound good yet for the lowest paid this meant feeling its injustice- especially after rising costs, low purchasing power, and the government's failure to mitigate its unlikely effects.

But despite staunch opposition, economic managers, as well as apologists alike bluntly chose not to admit having flaws but instead having it blamed on anything such as tariffs from the United States as major cause for the country's financial problems, or even politicians who dare to oppose the administration's agenda.

But to think that the tax reform law felt badly by many as it slapped a hefty excise tax on fuel, raising transport and electricity costs, and with inflation hitting a nine-year high, the peso falling to a record low, will people still accept that law the system insisted as means to raise funds?

Anyway, with the government passed the second phase of tax reforms, describing it as to "attract better and high quality opportunities", and at the same time feeling the actual negative effects which the government fails or half-heartedly mitigating its effects, economic managers will still insist its justness by telling it meant lead to more jobs, opportunities, steady inflation rate, and of course, stable businesses- despite the fact that there lies possible business shutdowns and consequent job losses thanks to that goddamn first phase and its provisions that the order chose not to address its flaws.

Since taxes are increased and thus the prices of commodities and fares, then about issues like infested rice and rumors of embalmed fish? Just like earlier issues on rice shortages, this another agricultural matter has For sure Agriculture Secretary Piñol hath tried to dispel rumors that made people gone mad after rice shortages, in fact, the agriculture secretary accepted it as a challenge by eating both infested rice and the alleged "embalmed" fish as he insisted that those foods are "safe to eat" if not telling consumers that these "were made-up stories from businessmen because they do not want the new import system".

Desperate isn't it? But despite his effort to appease, it didn't dispel the concern coming from an overtaxed yet still underpaid commoner. The imports would have saved the Filipino from the shortages if not from being infested, much better if instead of being imported would be coming from the Filipino farmers themselves who yearned for a greater share coming from a government willing to buy their produce seriously and not for the sake of propaganda; so are the fishes that would have been fished by the Filipinos instead of being imported from its neighbours if not from the policies that also includes concessions especially with the Chinese; but in a system whose economic policy cares less about the farmers and fisherfolk in favour of the compradore (and its landlord partner), then sorry to say but with the existing policies no wonder why agriculture has been a problem that's failed to be addressed. 

And to think that some would say it would be easier to abolish the National Food Authority (NFA) due to its failure to resolve the crisis, if not telling that better for foreigners to take a parcel of land and the Agrarian Reform to be stopped once and for all but instead shift the attention to making Philippine Agriculture tailored further into neoliberal-globalist interests, also unwondering why the system continues to please it's age-old robber barons. Come to think that they take pride in having a a program similar to "masagana 99" yet most arable lands end becoming subdivisions due to lack of government support- what more of liberalization of agriculture that allows NFA to increase allocation of imported rice. 

For sure everybody knows that these bad tasting imported rice compete with the locally-produced ones, thus, giving opportunities to landlords and traders to even depress the farmgate price of palay, what more of badly-needed, yet, expensive inputs (thanks to that goddamn tax reform law), all leaving the rice farmers in deep poverty and debt- same as the fisherfolks who end seeing their fishing grounds controlled by interests whose factory ships able to catch more but for an intended market.

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All in all, most if not all Filipino consumers are being run over by that TRAIN, followed by infested rice and rumors about embalmed fish, what more the inflation and that still still low wage amidst high costs of goods and services.

For apologists, these matters are meant to be "temporary" and "resolvable" if not putting the blame on the left for making the issue be politicised as such; in a time when Duterte and his men trying to build their orderism using democratic if not legal processes, they would try their "best" in making their agenda pleasing to the people even when in fact it isn't due to its neoliberal/monetarist slant as his predecessors - and from it meant more taxes for the laborer, profits for the profiteer, increased prices for the middlemen, and misery for the masses. 

These and more are actually destabilizing than any political maneuvering as the present administration love to deal on, real or imagined.