I've Never Held 50 Million Pesos

I don't know what that amount looks like. As a fan of positive thinking to make changes in one's life, I won't say "I'll never see that much money until I die!" but, if I left things to chance, I won't. In almost four decades of existence, I have not spent that much - not even a tenth - in my lifetime, much less earned it.

And Kris Aquino, sister of the Philippine President, is merely filing it as the tax she owes the government.

Even her tax return gets media attention.

(Courtesy of pinoyshoutouts.com)

Of course, Kris was recently in the limelight. Maybe I should rephrase that: Kris is not Kris if she's not telling everyone - even those who are trying their best to look away - every minute detail of her life. After appearing on national television (along with her other sisters) to announce her "resignation" from show business as well as letting everyone know how she, then-husband James Yap and baby Bimby are doing, she then went on a well-documented trip to Europe, and I suppose she can call the trip a "success" because she was able to secure a face-to-face with the new Pope.

And this bit of holy "news" promptly got reported in the evening newscast.

Today, the story that features her leaves me in a conundrum: Kris is this country's top taxpayer. (See http://www.rappler.com/business/26278-kris-aquino-is-top-ph-taxpayer for more details.)

See, on one hand, it's great that she doesn't renege on her duties as a citizen of this country. Akin to J.K. Rowling (author of the Harry Potter books) who lost her status as a billionaire for paying the UK what she owes them in taxes, Kris can be called a lot of things, but a tax evader she is not.

Here's the kicker: Henry Sy, the retail industry's Midas of this archipelago, only ranks number 16 in terms of how much he adds to the government coffers.

SM's head honcho is dwarfed by you-know-who.

(Courtesy of the Official Facebook Fan Page of Kris Aquino)

No wonder so many aspiring wannabes are falling all over themselves to be the next media darling, instead of engaging in businesses. With this payoff, it becomes less of a mystery.

And even less of a puzzle is why, despite many critics highlighting her inability to follow through on her own pronouncement of "going away for good" - 2013 marks the nth time she has "threatened" to give it all up - she stays on. If this amount is what she gives back, imagine what she gets in return for all the spectacles she's put up and we've had to witness.

And the conundrum? This probably means she will be on our television screens, billboards, newspaper columns, airwaves, online portals, clothing lines, perfumes, magazine covers...pretty much until we draw our last breath in this mortal life.

As they say, you have to take the good with the...other option.