A friend of mine recently posted on Facebook the following status in reaction to one of the many news articles about Janet Lim-Napoles:

The BIR says its going to crack down on professionals like us because we dont pay our taxes correctly. When you read stories like this, makes you question why should we when it goes to people like this. So disgusting!!!

At first, I disapproved of the idea that any citizen should evade paying tax on the sole reason that it will just be corrupted by the government. Even if we know that corruption is rampant, I thought that this was no excuse for us not to do our civic duty of paying taxes. As Jesus said, “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?” I guess I was surprised by the revelation of BIR that some professional pay less income tax than public school teachers.

But seeing at how this latest political scam is playing out, I cannot help but agree with my friend. I’m a bit jaded with government corruption particularly when political padrinos get “commission” on public projects. But when you hear news about of ghost projects, bogus NGOs, and people pocketing billions of pesos with absolutely nothing to show for it, it makes me angry. And when some people, like the Napoles family, flaunt their wealth, the word “angry” doesn’t begin to cut it.

I will admit that I’m a bit envious that I cannot avoid paying taxes as a form of civil disobedience, like some in the professional sector. As an employed citizen, my income tax is withheld by my company and correctly remitted to the government. There’s no going around that.

Since I can’t show my indignation by avoiding paying taxes, then I would like to show it in the way the Filipino people have done it: through mass demonstration. I’m mad, angry, disappointed, and absolutely disgusted, and that is why I am going to the Million People March in Luneta.