Bonifacio, Ma. Patricia Therese C.

(11028408) Macrec1 V26

27 September 2012

Adventures sa Kawatanan ng Rentas Internas (Synthesis Paper) It is said that it is a Filipino trade mark to point at things we would like to refer to using our lipsnguso as it is pertained to. Or when someone asks for directions, people often use their hands and fingers to gesture the approximate location of where they are supposed to head to. Sometimes, to be discreet, the eyes are even used to point at someone or something that is being talked about with another person. Although the elders would often say that pointing is wrong or bad, I guess its inevitable as it is already a part of our daily lives, as demonstrated by the examples given. In our society today, we can see more pointing at scenarios other than those already mentioned. People point fingers to others saying it is the others responsibility of whatsoever they can be responsible of themselves. Take the adventure of the NCCA researcher-slash-employee-slashfreelance writer as an example, as he was trying to work on getting his TIN, the different offices he approached kept pointing him to other offices. Following the logic, BIR Main should indeed be able to accommodate applicants but they pointed that other smaller branches are responsible for his application for many different reasons such as his workplace location and residence. From his narration of going back and forth, just to get his TIN, he wasted time, energy and money- all because the offices kept pointing out that it was another office that was in-charge of giving him a TIN. As suggested by the title, it is indeed an adventure at the BIR, or Bureau of Internal Revenue (Kawatanan ng Rentas Internas in Filipino, as by the title) since he did not just go to one branch, but to several! Not to mention that back and forth he also went from his office and baranggay hall in between the BIR branches visit. The BIR Main could have done it instead of directing him to other branches, as they are the MAIN after all, but they insisted that it was anothers responsibility. See, everyone points at someone what they really are responsible of to the point that everyone thinks someone will actually be responsible for it but most of the time, no one really claims the responsibility. Now why does this pointing at others happen? Because the whole process of applying for a TIN lacks one, and only one thing- an effective system. If there was an effective system, then the offices wouldnt be as ineffective as they seemed to be in the story. If there was a system, the NCCA researcher-slash-employee-slashfreelance writer wouldnt have wasted his resources, just as the other applicants have. And if there was an effective system then more people would not be discouraged to apply for their own TIN. From the mind of Mr. NCCA researcher-slash-employee-slash-freelance writer, Dinedeclare ko na sa gobyerno na puwede na nila akong kupitan, err, kaltasan ang maliit na suweldo. Ako na nga magbibigay ng pera sa kanila, ako pa ang hinihigpitan. Which could be the case of those who do not care if they serve their role as citizens by paying tax- they are merely discouraged that applying for a TIN, which allows the government to collect what is due from you, is such a hassle! Who would want to effort so much only to be tax-ed in the end? Or maybe its the case that people today do not trust our government anymore. They have generalized their view of the government as corrupt. So indeed, if whats taken from them doesnt really benefit them as how it should be, then there would no incentive for them to apply for this TIN. The experience of Mr. NCCA researcher-slashemployee-slash-freelance writer is not unique, a lot of real people experience this day to day, and not only in the BIR. Applying for a drivers license also take a while, as well as the application for and NBI clearance. The BIR is a part of the government. And thus, people may view them as the way they view the government- which is not good because the people do not trust the government, in turn, they dont trust BIR as much. The thing is, despite all that, people are still trying to play their part! But its obviously not going to work out fine if it is one sided. The government has to start building the trust of the people in them again, and one way to do it is by implementing an effective system. A system that can be seen or if not, involve the citizens. They have to stop pointing at others and blaming others, besides, each and every one of us has a part to play and a responsibility to our country- may it be the government or those who are just trying to get a TIN.