People appear to be getting fed up with the corruption of their politicians and all those in cahoots with them. This was the case with the recent political turmoil in both Indonesia and Nepal. In the case of the latter, it led to the downfall of the government and the creation of an interim one.
In the Philippines, hearings of both houses of Congress have brought to light the corruption in government contracts as they relate to flood control projects.
It involves government officials, including elected ones, and private contractors, resulting in the loss of billions in taxpayers’ money annually, and the lack of delivery of basic services, causing untold suffering to people whenever and wherever there is flooding.
For example, the Commission of Audit reported that in Bulacan province, there were four ghost flood control projects worth US$6.8 million. Such ghost projects are on top of the “commissions” that corrupt officials receive, which can consume almost 60 per cent of a project’s budget.
Consequently, the situation leads to substandard workmanship on those projects and their attendant consequences. Impunity has been the name of the game for them.
…both Marcos Jr. and vice president, Sara Duterte, received campaign funds during the 2022 elections from building contractors, and after they won the election, those same contractors were awarded public works contracts by the government
In response to recent revelations about corruption, students from all over the Philippines protested against those corrupt practices. For instance, students from the University of the Philippines and Ateneo de Manila University staged a walkout from classes. At De La Salle University, students formed a human chain, lining the main thoroughfare outside their campus.
In the same vein, two public transport organisations went on strike in the third week of September. There are ongoing rallies against corruption all over the Philippines, participated in by non-government organisations, people’s groups, activists, and Church-affiliated groups. Tens of thousands flocked to Luneta Park and the People Power Monument in Metro Manila, as well as in the southern cities of Iloilo, Cebu, and Bacolod.
Interestingly, September 21 was the anniversary of the declaration of Martial Law by then-president, Ferdinand Marcos Sr, in 1972.
The incumbent president, his son, Ferdinand Marcos Jr., called out the corruption in the flood control projects in his State of the Nation Address on July 28.
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That actually started all the ongoing investigations in Congress about corruption in those projects and the ensuing protest movements.
It is ironic that Marcos Jr. did that since the Philippine government has so far recovered about US$2.1 billion from the Marcos family’s ill-gotten wealth and has ongoing legal cases against them. It appears to be the case of the pot calling the kettle black.
Many of those implicated will not be impoverished by such reparation, yet the nation remains poor if the funds are not restored. Retribution in this sense is not personal vengeance but the rightful act of giving back what was stolen, so that the people may finally benefit from resources meant for their welfare
Cardinal David
Moreover, both Marcos Jr. and vice president, Sara Duterte, received campaign funds during the 2022 elections from building contractors, and after they won the election, those same contractors were awarded public works contracts by the government.
Not surprisingly, Pablo Virgilio Cardinal David released a pastoral letter, Beyond Survival: Rising against the Flood of Corruption, in response to the issue on behalf of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines.
In his letter, Cardinal David emphasised the need to make all those responsible accountable. He also called for restitution, saying, “Many of those implicated will not be impoverished by such reparation, yet the nation remains poor if the funds are not restored. Retribution in this sense is not personal vengeance but the rightful act of giving back what was stolen, so that the people may finally benefit from resources meant for their welfare.”
Importantly, since patronage politics is prevalent in Philippine society, the cardinal called on people to go beyond survival politics: “We must demand visible accountability: quick audits, real penalties, and transparency that people can see. And renewal must also begin with us.”
Such a renewal demands value formation of the young, inculcating in them good manners and right conduct.
We must demand visible accountability: quick audits, real penalties, and transparency that people can see. And renewal must also begin with us
Cardinal David
He then called on all to commit themselves to be vigilant and vocal, reject patronage politics, model honesty in daily life, build communities of truth, join civic and parish initiatives toward societal renewal, support independent probe of corruption, demand justice, not impunity, lead by example in the Church, live modestly and resist excess.
They are, of course, important steps if corruption is to be stamped out or at least mitigated in Philippine society. Such efforts are demanding and require conversion. Filipino bishops have time and again spoken about those steps, but hopefully, this time around, people will take seriously the challenge of renewing the country’s political culture.
I’d like to make two observations with regard to the points for action given by the cardinal.
First, we need to go beyond restitution and demand reparation. Those involved in corruption must not only restore the status quo ante by returning what they stole from public coffers, but they also need to make amends for the losses and the suffering inflicted on the people, especially the poor.
It is not hard to imagine how the well-being and rights of the poor are compromised every time public funds meant for the delivery of basic services go into the pockets of unscrupulous politicians, government officials, and contractors. It is not enough that they return what they stole or received as kickbacks.
Corruption in the Philippines has long been taken as part of the wheeling and dealing of those in power. If one were cynical, one would say that nothing will come out of all the ongoing investigations and protests against corruption. Corrupt officials will wait for things to die down, and then it will be business as usual for them
And second, related to the Church leading by example. When receiving donations, Church officials need to be more discerning and discriminating. They should not simply accept donations from any source without properly vetting them.
It is a fact that among the biggest benefactors of the Church are politicians and businesspeople. Given the present Philippine socio-political context, it won’t be far-fetched to assume that the donations from many of them come from their corrupt practices.
Church leaders can’t claim that such funds are being put to good use even if they are tainted. In the first place, those benefactors have no right to those funds, much less give them away to others.
Moreover, I suspect that in the minds of those corrupt benefactors, their corruption is justified if they give a part of it to the Church. Charity for them is a way of expiating for their sins against the Seventh Commandment. That charity is the opium of the corrupt seems to be the case. We need to disabuse the mindset that it is acceptable to be corrupt as long as you help others in the process.
Corruption in the Philippines has long been taken as part of the wheeling and dealing of those in power. If one were cynical, one would say that nothing will come out of all the ongoing investigations and protests against corruption. Corrupt officials will wait for things to die down, and then it will be business as usual for them.
Nevertheless, while that might well be the case, if we truly care for one another and if we want to build a better society, then we need to take the bull by the horns. There ought to be no let-up with regard to present initiatives against corruption, and to bring to justice all those involved in it.
Cardinal David is right when he writes in his pastoral letter that we need to remember all those things we learned when we were young, “share what you have, play fair, clean up your own mess, don’t take things that aren’t yours, etc. Such values, instilled in the young, are essential in building a culture that abhors and resists corruption.”
The Filipino people deserve so much better from our government. END corruption NOW!
The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official editorial position of UCAN.
