Starve the beast

I found myself in a very high-end steak restaurant in BGC last week, where it was claimed that BBM had one of his birthday celebrations.

- BOO CHANCO

The folks I was having dinner with were very high-end too. I was the only peasant present.

I was invited to partake of, among others, American Wagyu (strange — Wagyu means Japanese steak; this one is American-Japanese) and other steak cuts and types. I felt like a “nepo baby” after checking the prices on the menu.

I guess I was invited because they were concerned about our situation and wanted to hear insights I could share. The guys, who are CEOs of various companies, came with their wives. Once the conversation got started, worries about what would happen next were palpable.

I had to tell them that nothing will happen unless BBM realizes his life depends on doing something quickly to be credible. The ladies agreed that the next thing that should happen is for heads to roll.

I told them the new Ombudsman seems to be moving like an Energizer Bunny, like Vince Dizon. The two of them are doing the tough job of making people believe something is happening and that heads will also shortly roll.

The ladies had strong views on how our taxes are being wasted, and one of them asked if we could have a tax boycott. One of the guys in the group was a former finance secretary, and he said that’s impossible because the poor would be deprived of the services they badly need.

The idea of a tax boycott is something I have been hearing a lot lately. People are very hurt after seeing those bundles of thousand-peso bills on a table ready for distribution to the congressional sponsors of ghost projects. “That's our tax money” is the common protest.