SOUNDING BOARD is an outlet for opinions on good and crazy things going on at home (wherever I may be). All are welcome. You are not expected to bring anything except your common sense & sense of humor.
'If the automobile had followed the same development cycle as the computer, a Rolls-Royce would today cost $100, get one million miles to the gallon, and explode once a year, killing everyone inside.'
-Robert X. Cringely (from geek wisdom)
SOUNDING BOARD
Saturday, August 07, 2004
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Interest group politics through text messages (again)
The Arroyo government seems to be running out of ideas as it plans to impose a tax on text messages. The anti-tax coalition Txt Power threatened legislators on Saturday with a barrage of text messages on Monday to pressure Congress not to pass the government’s plan to tax text messages (INQ7.net, 7 August 2004). I'm totally against this proposed tax. People back home are already spending 15 Pesos (almost US$ .30) per text when they send me messages. I wonder what's the next in the Arroyo government's list? Filipinos are neat freaks - we take a bath everyday, sometimes more than twice a day during summer. Why not impose a tax on that, anyway the government seems to prefer additional tax measures than improving the efficiency of tax collection. I'm being sarcastic now.
It's now time for nasty tax measures because elections are over. Gloria Arroyo can afford to be unpopular now. She may have already forgotten about the role of text messaging during EDSA 2. EDSA 4 (or 3, I lost count already) will not happen. Most organized interest groups are too busy on other things to join this crusade against tax on text (no pun intended). The issue is less earthshaking than corruption, plunder and abuse of human rights.
It's all numbers game in interest group politics. If Txt Power can demonstrate they are a huge bloc of protesters (assuming legislators care about their image to the public especially if they'll seek re-election), then we can all say goodbye to this proposed measure. Txt Power's problem is that the next elections are way too far to be considered by politicians. And these politicians know that Filipinos easily forget.
P15 for txt? That is when you ask your wifey to buy you a prepaid sim with roaming turned on. When they text you from pinas it will only be the usual msg fees in pinas!
uh-uh. Baliktad po yata. If I have roaming (say Globe) then anyone who sends text to my Globe number (while I'm in Phnom Penh) from Pinas will be charged the normal rate (1 Php or 2 Php?). Since I'm not using any roaming facility, people from Pinas will be charged 15 Php.
Hello shampoo! Kaya nga. Get a roaming card. Para makamura sila. Just bought myself a thumb drive. 39 lang yung 256mb! Tax free day pa nung saturday! Ayos! wala lang share ko lang si Charmaine andito sobrang tourist galore kami!
