A FEW nights ago, I was busy filling out my income tax return, which is due tomorrow, April 15. My son was asking me how much I have to pay, and why I even need to pay when the government isn’t using the money well. You see, my son, who’ll be 13 soon, is very much aware of what’s happening in the country, and knows about the ZTE-NBN scandal, the Piatco fiasco, and all the other events occurring on the political front.

So why pay taxes when there is much corruption? I have heard this line before. Someone indeed asked me a few years back why we have to pay the right taxes when it will just be misused anyway.

Well, what would happen if we don’t pay the right taxes? The teachers in public schools may not even get their meager salaries at all. Patients in government hospitals may not find one doctor or nurse to attend to them. The potholes in the roads may get big enough for cars to fall into. Traffic lights may get busted and not replaced, or worse, there won’t be any more policemen to direct traffic. Senior citizens in places like Golden Acres may have no more place to run to.

Some two thousand years ago, some men also asked Jesus, “Is it right to pay taxes to Caesar or not?” The Lord asked for a coin, showed them whose face was on it, then said, “Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.” (Matthew 22: 17, 21).

So, do your duty and pay the right taxes. What happens to the taxes after we’ve remitted it is up to the government; the leaders will be held accountable for that.

“WELCOME to TriNoma!” Every time I park at this mall’s North Avenue parking building, I am greeted with a sweet smile from the lady issuing the parking ticket and the two security guards inspecting my car. They don’t know me personally, but they smile just the same, and I can’t help smiling back.

In his column in the Philippine Daily Inquirer today, historian Ambeth Ocampo said greetings are also given at the Rockwell and Ayala Malls parking booths. See, niceties like these do not go unnoticed.

A year ago, my family scheduled a late lunch at Greek restaurant Cyma at Shangri-La Plaza. The place was packed, and there was a long wait for a table, and for orders to arrive. But to this day, I still remember the heavyset male server who had his hair pulled back in a pony tail. He had a genuine smile on his face and apologized sincerely for the long wait as he brought in our orders. I think because of this, none of us got mad; we did enjoy the meal.

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I first heard about the “Why Not” forum from Smart’s Mon Isberto. At the time, I thought it was just a marketing gimmick or people pounding their fists on the table about something nationalistic when they are actually just marketing themselves. This blog post by Niña Terol has made me see that there must be something real here for the politics-weary Filipino who wants to change the world — often through entrepreneurship. I post this with the permission of Mark Ruiz, one of the founders of Why Not. Read on:

By Niña Terol
 
It was an ordinary Thursday night, and yet Warehouse 135, the hip warehouse-turned-club on Yakal Street in Makati, was filled to capacity. Only it wasn’t filled with clubgoers and party scenesters—it was filled with young professionals, creative minds, thinkers, and dreamers who all dared to ask a question that would set the tone for the entire evening’s talks: Why not?
 
The WhyNot? Forum, according to founders Mark Ruiz and Bam Aquino, is a “smorgasboard of great, brave ideas—an open-source innovation soup that will hopefully inspire other Filipinos all over to connect adjunct thoughts, take impactful action, and weave together new breakthrough ideas.” Inspired by the TEDTalks of the United States ( www.ted.com), it is based on the simple idea of gathering some of the best minds in the country to share their respective ideas for 15 minutes each. By asking The Question and challenging outmoded assumptions, it is hoped that WhyNot? Forum will spark a thought revolution that will encourage people to “think new thoughts, share big dreams, do brave things.”

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When you’re in business, you can’t afford to do an ostrich reaction to crises. No matter how much you long to stick your head in the sand and hope all that bad news will go away, the honorable and ultimately more business-friendly decision you can make is to show a grieving face and a generous hand.

Ayala Land this afternoon suffered tremendously from a bomb blast in its popular Glorietta mall. Around six hours after, a sincere spokesperson went on television saying the company will take care of all hospitalization expenses. He says that Ayala’s insurance broker will make sure there is no paperwork needed.

Huge expenses, yes. Timely and responsible, yes. If you look closely at business crises in the past ten years, these matter, especially in the long run.

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I’m beginning to think most good ideas come from high school buddies who want to change the world for good and coffee shop talks late into the night.

An exaggeration, of course, but that’s exactly how it started for Paolo Benigno A. Aquino IV and Mark Joaquin Ruiz. These two thirty-somethings have come up with an idea to alleviate Philippine poverty one sari-sari store at a time through a business model that aims to create the first Filipino branded sari-sari store chain.

They both gave up their leadership positions in their regular jobs – Aquino as chairman of the National Youth Commission and Ruiz as senior customer marketing manager in Unilever – to set up Microventures Inc. last year and begin the Hapinoy Store chain.

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