Tax exemption for Pacquiao?

Valenzuela Rep. Magtanggol Gunigundo’s proposal to exempt boxing superstar Manny Pacquiao from paying taxes takes the cake.

Gunigundo, who is Pacquiao’s colleague in the House of Representatives, says the Sarangani representative should not go to the trouble of paying income taxes for as long as he lives.

Why? Because, according to Gunigundo, Pacquiao has given honor and pride to our country.

In that case, all the Filipino beauty queens who have made the country proud should also be exempt from paying taxes.

Other athletes who win world titles should be exempt from paying taxes because they bring honor to the country.

Families of Filipino overseas contract workers who bring in billions of dollars into the country should also be exempt from paying taxes.

Gunigundo is like this congressman who wanted to outlaw typhoons.

What is surprising is that many of Gunigundo’s colleagues in the House are backing his proposal.

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I’m reminded of the joke about a mentally-challenged man who brought a duck into a cockfight arena.

His duck, the man argued, could hold its own against the best fighting cocks.

Who do you think bet on the duck at the cockfight arena?

The man’s fellow patients at the National Mental Hospital!

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Members of the US Special Forces and US Navy Seals are helping our soldiers and elite cops go after the members of the bandit group Abu Sayyaf.

Not only do our soldiers and police commandos receive training from their American counterparts, they are also armed with the latest weapons and tracking equipment provided by the US.

But why is it that despite the help and sophisticated equipment, our troops can’t defeat a ragtag band of terrorists?

The reason: Our soldiers and police commandos don’t have the spirit to fight because they are not assured of medical care when they are wounded in battle.

Soldiers taken to the Armed Forces Medical Center or V. Luna Hospital are asked to buy their own medicines because the hospital pharmacy lacks medical supplies.

Ask any soldier who has had the misfortune of being confined at V. Luna and he will bear me out.

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In contrast, soldiers or policemen who are wounded in the performance of duty are well cared for at the Chinese General Hospital (CGH).

The CGH does not charge soldiers or cops who are wounded in line of duty and are taken to the hospital.

Everything is free for these soldiers or cops, says philanthropist James Dy, owner of the CGH.

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Even if Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin visits wounded soldiers at V. Luna every day as he did recently, the  morale of the troops in the field will continue to be low if they are not assured of free medicines at  V. Luna.

“I dropped everything in my schedule to be with you and to personally greet you and say that all of you are our country’s heroes,” Gazmin told the wounded soldiers.

If the government considers wounded soldiers heroes, why are they made to pay for their own medicines when they are confined at V. Luna?