I can’t really say that I’m surprised about the reported suicide of former Defense Secretary Angelo Reyes. Deep down, I guess he was relatively decent guy who fell in with the wrong company which in this case unfortunately is the corrupt upper echelons of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP).
It just goes to show how deeply embedded the culture of corruption has grown in Philippine life. If corruption is so widespread that even former PMA graduates are no longer immune to them, then who in government is left for us to trust? No wonder that the average Filipino remains so pessimistic about the country’s future even when presented with very good economic data. Virtually every government institution has been tainted with corruption, even the Supreme Court.
Being in the military is like being in a fraternity. To get ahead, one must conform to the culture. Unfortunately, that culture has grown to become so corrupt too. To be able to rise to the very top, it has become almost impossible for an individual to avoid getting involved in the corruption there. It’s hard to walk through a rainstorm without getting wet.
I am no longer sure if I’ll ever see the day when corrupt big-time Filipino politicians and government officials are herded off to jail to serve serious jail times. I am highly doubtful of that ever happening. Whenever I talk to Filipino friends about the situation in the Philippines, one thing always frustrates me. To a person, they all long for that PURE and HONEST politician who will rise and change the Philippines for all of us. And yet, I haven’t heard any of them say that they’ve ever paid the right amount of tax to the Philippine government. They won’t even commit themselves to doing it. They all try to rationalize their distorted view by saying “Why should I bother paying the correct amount of taxes when the government will steal the money anyway?” Guess what? Tax evasion is corruption as well. By denying the government the funds it needs to properly operate, a tax evader helps grow and worsen the country’s culture of corruption. Meaningful change has to come from somewhere and it has to come from within us.
We ought to stop wishing for a corruption-free Philippines if we’re not willing to be corruption-free ourselves.
hey. you’re back.
corruption in the country sucks. nakakainis. i received my ITR last week and i couldn’t believe how much income tax i paid last year. tas parang napupunta lang sa bulsa ng mga korupt.
The Scud,
Kumusta ka na, Pards? I apologize for the long absence. It is true that in the Philippines, the government thus take a big bite out of one’s earnings. A big part of the problem is that the government keeps raising tax rates to make up for its failure to collect the correct amount of taxes from businesses and individuals. It fails to collect the proper amount of taxes due to rampant corruption within its ranks, especially among BIR, Land Transportation and Customs personnel. If only the government will strictly enforce existing tax laws, it should not be in the big financial hole it is in. Unfortunately, everyone who has tried to fix the BIR, Customs, and other government agencies have so far failed to do so due to attacks from corrupt politicians, corrupt members of the media, and corrupt government employees.
An honest individual can’t do it alone. There has to be a system in place that will support and empower him/her to properly fulfill his/her responsibility. Unfortunately, our institutions are so corrupt that we don’t have such a system.
Well said or should I say well written piece.
Daphne,
Thank you very much for the compliment. The corruption in the country is now out of control. Nakakainis na.
I hope things have been well with you and D. Take care.
Education and discipline are the two basic things we, as Filipinos, found wanting.
I think, “PURE and HONEST politician” is an oxymoron.
: )
Blogusvox,
Very true, Pards. There’s no such animal, not even the current occupant of Malacanang. Although Honesty is an important virtue, a politician also needs to be effective at his/her job. He/she needs to effect meaningful change and he/she should possess the intelligence and political savvy that will help him/her get things done.
It is also sad that our people are no longer getting an adequate education on civics. We have become too focused on getting personalities elected but we don’t pay much attention to the political structure in place that will help our politicians pass the laws and reforms we badly need. As an example, hardly anybody pays attention to the problems with our current multi-party system and yet, that system is one of the biggest drags/obstacles to getting things done in the Philippine Congress. The President, for example, will have to do a lot of wheeling and dealing with several political parties in order to have his programs passed. In a two-party system, the process will be much quicker because there are fewer parties to deal with (1) and less time needed to get laws passed.
I miss posts like this from you – glad to have you back.
Sad but I can’t say that I have faith in any politician. I believe they all had their hands in the cookie jar – they just don’t get caught
I beg your indulgence in this sharing:
A neighbor got elected to a position in our province. Big achievement. I knew him when he didn’t have anything.
Despite his moving to the capital, we still think of them as neighbors. So when he went and ran for office and got elected we were happy.
I was working in the capital and one day some neighbors and I shared a ride. I asked them where they were going. They said to “his” house. I asked if there was something going on, because I was on the way to work, and they asked to be dropped by first.
The loose tongued neighbors told me they wanted to ask for his financial support – for their personal reasons. That didn’t sound right to me. I wanted to give these neighbors a tongue lashing but good manners prevented me from doing so. AFter all these people are my mother’s friends, sort of.
But come on, an elected official is not in office to support your personal needs. He is not there to pay your child’s tuition fee or something or to feed you.
We arrived at their house and an atmosphere of fiesta was everywhere. The official was feeding everyone – free food.
I am not saying the official is corrupt. If people continually abuse the official’s generosity – where will he get the money to support the people?
Thankfully I have not heard any rumours of malfeasance against this official who also happens to be friends with my brothers.
Photo Cache,
Your story is sad but very accurate. Some politicians are driven to corruption by the very people who elected them. You are right in that a politician also has a responsibility towards his family. For some reason, a lot of Filipinos don’t seem to understand that. A lot of our countrymen have a sense of entitlement. They’re always after a freebie whenever and wherever they can get it and everything else be damned.
I hope your politician-friend stays relatively clean. It’s hard to stay squeaky-clean in the Philippines given the pervasiveness of corruption in our culture. However, as long as your friend keeps things in perspective, he should be fine.
How have you been, my friend? I hope things have been well with you. Take care.
Hey, kamusta na? Been coming back here once in a while to check on you
I always enjoy reading your thoughts and am glad too that I can share mine…somehow.
Corruption is endemic…media, doctors and pharmaceuticals, government employees and heads….they all do it because if they don’t they feel that they’re left behind “hindi kasali sa uso,” lol. Which shows how poor Filipino honesty and integrity is, ironically, sad for a race claiming to be a religious huh?
That’s why I always think that it has nothing to do with religion but with one’s personal relationship with God…those who fear God, (well those knowing he’d be upset at any dishonesty and not the kind of fear that one would be bbq’d in hell ha) are, I think most likely to think twice before crossing the line of being honest and/or corrupt.
As for Reyes, I share the same sentiment…I was surprised to see how he looked so old already…parang andaming dinadala…at some point I thought too this is just another plot…inuna lang ni Gloria iexpose ang ibang tao para matagal ang probe sa kanya…tsk tsk!
Hi Gizelle,
I’m fine naman, thanks. Naging masyadong busy lang sa trabaho. How are you and the family?
I agree with your statement. If people had a stronger moral compass and the fear of God in them, then it would be harder for them to be corrupted.
I just wished that Reyes had stayed on to fight the corruption within the military system. He would have been able to redeem his reputation if he had done so. I also think however that he decided not to do so because if he had, some of his “brothers” in the military profession would have gone after him with probably deadly consequences.
kahit ako nalungkot.
email kita. may ibang info ako
Atticus,
Thanks for the additional info. Interesting and intriguing.
Oo nga nakakashock din ang balita di mo tuloy alam what is the real score if guilty ba sya o hindi. Or kung sino pa mga kasangkot.
Dorm Boy,
There’s probably a lot of people in the upper echelons of the military who are involved and that’s why he opted to kill himself. Had he exposed the others, they would have gone after him and his family. It’s the military and unfortunately, killing is part of the profession.
Thanks for the visit and the comment. Much appreciated.
alam mo, ang hirap kasi ng sistema. mula sa taxi driver hanggang sa top executives, easy way out ang nagiging direksion.
sana dumating ang panahon na makita ng bawat pinoy na ang paglilinis ng sistema natin ay kontribusyon ng bawat isa, hindi ng mga nasa itaas lang.
at sana makita ng mga nasa gitna na kung mananahimik sila sa mali, bahagi sila ng bulok na sistema.
Atticus,
As they say, evil triumphs when all good people do nothing. On the other hand, it’s also a damn-if-you-do-and-damn-if-you-don’t kind of situation. Given the awful justice system we have, a lot of people try to either just ignore the problem or get involved with the corruption but only up to a level that they can personally tolerate. Minimizing the corruption of the justice system will go a long way in reviving people’s faith in the system. Corruption in our society will be significantly reduced if people know that there is an effective and fair justice system they can rely on.
I am reminded of a sign that’s posted on the front of the New York State Supreme Court’s courthouse in downtown Manhattan. The sign says “The true administration of justice is the firmest pillar of good government.” We will never have good government in the Philippines for as long as the justice system remains weak and corrupt.
It is known fact that other 3rd world countries are likewise corrupt – India, Indonesia, Thailand and even China. I have long given up the hope of Pinas being corruption free, that we can’t eliminate corruption but we can certainly reduce it. India is also corrupt subalit bakit parang umaasenso sila ?
My only wish is that if even if corruption can’t be readicated AS LONG AS THE GODDAMN PUBLIC OFFICIALS SPEND MOST OF THE MONEY FOR WHAT IT IS INTENDED FOR then at least there’s something to show for the people. In other words, steal some but not all of it. If the conressman’s pork barrel is P40 billion for example lang, how much do you think will he steal ?? If he steals P20M and spends P39.980B for what it is intended for we should still be relatively OK. Kaso hindi eh. Ubusan ang laban kaya simot tayo lahat. Yan siguro ang kaibahan ng Pinas sa China or India.
BW,
I agree. The problem with the corrupt politicians in our country is that the bribes they are now asking for are quite significant. Bribes now reportedly make up about 20% to 30% of a project’s cost and that’s a lot of money. Our politicos are no longer satisfied with just millions of dollars in bribes (pesos won’t do anymore). They’re now asking for tens of millions or worse, hundreds of millions of dollars. Ask Benjamin Abalos (former COMELEC Chairman and Mandaluyong City Mayor) and Mike Arroyo and both men should be able to confirm that for us.
Sobra na talaga, Pards. Wala kasing nakukulong eh. I blame all these abuses on the weakness of our justice system. If people know that justice will be served in our courts then our society won’t be this corrupt.
My cousin graduated from PMA in the 70s and he just made commodore recently. He was a bright, having earned an engineering degree from Mapua before PMA. He could have been promoted to an even higher rank by now if he had “played the game,” but he refused: his dad said he wouldn’t even bring home a pen or folder from the office. He claims they are government property and paid for by the Filipino people.
His dad was a career Phillippine sailor and they used to live in the naval housing project in Cavite where we often visited them on Sundays. This was way back in the 60s.
Regards,
Tito Eric aka senor enrique