Tax man in Jeep, Gadaffi's antidote vs dissent

by Mortz C. Ortigoza

Amid the brouhaha spawned by the almost P21 million 16 Ford Everest SUVs purchased by the provincial government without bid, members of the Sanggunian Panlalawigan should look how down-to-earth this BIR bigwig in terms of her riding life-style.

Ms. Cristine Cardona, the newly assigned Revenue District-4 chief of the BIR based in Calasiao, uses her issued lowly Innova Asian Utility Vehicle in going to work. But during Saturday and Sunday, you can see her riding in a public utility vehicle or jeep in going to the market and the church in Manaoag, Pangasinan.

She said she does not use her official car on those days because it is no longer an official working hour.

Cardona does not only supervise a premier tax office in Region 1 that has a tax goal of P1.5 billion this year from the 14 towns and two cities in Central Pangasinan.

She is also the wife of a three-term mayor in Ormoc.

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She is the exact opposite of a former controversial boss of a Revenue District whose life style is an eye-sore to the people.

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Every year he changes his ride with flashy late model multi-million of pesos SUVs.

A corrupt taxman, who is rumored to be a womanizer, too.

According to my source at the BIR that man was already “sacked” from his post.

SUVs riding Board Member should ponder on the fate of this person.

2013 is fast approaching. With a skyrocketing valuation of Real Property Tax you allegedly “rail-road” (as a quid pro quo for your fancied SUV?) the electorates (including those gay or effeminate voters) will sack all of you in the poll.

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After the people in the Middle East and North Africa rose up against their authoritarian leaders, I was looking who among the remaining dictator or monarch could stave-off the inevitable people power. Tunisia’s Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali and Egypt’s Hosni Mubarak have already flown from the coop.

Would Libya’s Muammar Gaddafi next before the leaders of Yemen, Bahrain, Kuwait, and Saudi Arabia fall down like a deck of cards?

But it seems Gaddafi has now the anti-dote to stop this over-throw mania that permeates the two regions.

He unleashed his military and mercenaries by land, air, and sea that saw his enemies cut into bloody pieces as they hang for their lives in Benghazi before the much delayed United Resolution’s “No-Fly-Zone” has been passed.

But what took my curiosity as I surfed CNN and Fox TV, Gaddafi shrewdness to beat the saber rattling Yanks, Brits, and French when he declared to all and sundry his unanimous ceasefire.

With it, the UN is in “estoppels” to fire  a single shot as Gaddafi even asked selected countries like Germany  and China (that abstain in the UN Resolution) to come to his country as soon as possible to prove that he declared the truce in good faith.

Holly Molly, Gaddafi's chutzpah in calling a ceasefire can be a Machiavellian blue print for the despots in the Middle East and North Africa. Send thugs and troops and annihilate dissenters then unilaterally declare a ceasefire after UN imposed "A No Fly Zone". Gaddafi retains power, while rebels regroup and rebuild whatever remains to their tattered forces.

Now, the besieged pro-American kings in the Middle East have an idea what to do with those nuisance protesters that threatened their hold to power.

(Send comments to totomortz@yahoo.com)