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Thursday, August 28, 2003
Maxey: Revolutionary taxation
By Ram Maxey
THE pronouncement by the Merardo Arce Command of the New People's Army (NPA) that revolutionary taxes the movement demands from the people, especially businesses, is justified as such logistical support goes to social services like mass education and medical campaign as well as to families of cadres, administrative work, etcetera has reportedly shocked the Davao City Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Inc. (DCCCII).
Even Mayor Rodrigo R. Duterte has reacted to the point that he said he would try to talk to the NPA and encourage them to abandon the practice and instead lay down their arms and organize a cooperative in the Diwalwal gold mining area.
Businessmen, of course, call such taxation a form of extortion - pay, or else. That "or else" is self-explanatory and needs no elucidation. The communist rebels have from time to time showed what they mean by "or else". Valuable logging equipment worth millions of pesos, for instance, have been put to the torch for failure of loggers to pay revolutionary taxes.
Some of the victims of such retaliatory action, aside from logging firms, are in the land transportation business, construction companies, Globe-Telecom, Dole Philippines and the Philippine Global Communication (Philcom). Of course, revolutionary taxes have been extracted from ordinary people in the countryside where the NPA presence is strong and intimidating.
When a government collects taxes from the people, it is expected that the money goes back to the taxpayers in the form of public service like roads, bridges, schools, health facilities, irrigation, housing, drainage canals, sports facilities, electrification, peace and order requirements, so forth and so on. Of course, some of the tax money also finds their way into the pockets - nay, bank accounts - of criminals in government in the millions and billions of pesos. But that's another story.
In the case of revolutionary taxes, we still have to see a one-kilometer road built by the rebels for the people they say they have been fighting and sacrificing for. They don't spend for electrification in the countryside, instead they topple transmission towers. They don't build schoolhouses for the children out there in the boondocks, instead they disrupt their schooling with their presence that attracts the military and in the ensuing armed encounter force the inhabitants thereat to evacuate. Things like that.
In a press statement sent to Sun.Star Davao last Monday, NPA spokesperson Rigoberto Sanchez said "revolutionary taxation is based on the political power established by the revolutionary forces through armed struggle...the presence and operations of the Communist Party of the Philippines, the NPA, and the mass organizations (militant groups?) in 80 percent of the country's provinces attest to the existence of extensive spheres of influence by the revolutionary movement. It is in these areas where revolutionary forces are able to effectively enforce the laws, policies and regulations related to governance in guerrilla territories."
We're still trying to figure that out.
Meanwhile, big businesses hereabouts hope that Mayor Duterte would be able to persuade the rebels to take it easy on them after DCCCII president Romeo Serra reacted to the Merardo Arce Command press statement by saying that "the business community is caught off balance...we are taken aback."
Quote in the act:
(Defense Secretary Angelo Reyes, on NPA revolutionary taxation in Diwalwal): "They are still continuing extortion activity despite the strong presence of the Army there."
It ain't that strong, sir.
(August 28, 2003 issue)
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