How deep is your greed?

Unnerving is the word one may use on seeing news mavens cracking not from the pressures of the job, but from the gravity of the stories they have seen far too many of.

“How did we even get here?” Jessica Soho asked Rep. Toby Tiangco in an interview, appearing to sink into her seat with the despair that she felt. The flood control mess has given Filipinos a glimpse of the enormity of the corruption they could only speculate about but not fully grasp.

What could have been worse, these news veterans may have thought, than the time the cronies were taking the heat after Marcos Sr. was driven from the country? That was a rupture of a profound public trust — one that has never been regained, not fully, even when the yellow brick road under Cory Aquino seemed paved with promise.

In the flood of confessions, even the most cynical of Filipino taxpayers found that they were still capable of being stunned. Bombshells came in the form of tremendous amounts of cash going to just a few names identified in two days — the tip of the iceberg, to be sure. And there, bared for all to see, was a systemic rot too massive to be covered up anymore.

At this writing, newly installed Public Works and Highways Secretary Vince Dizon has filed a criminal case at the Ombudsman against 20 of the department’s former and incumbent officials and contractors involved in anomalous flood control projects in Bulacan.

Respondents in the case of graft and malversation of public funds include the contractor Sarah Discaya and Bulacan’s ex-district engineers Henry Alcantara, Brice Hernandez and Jaypee Mendoza.

These are the names the public has come to know over the past week of investigations — but while the Discayas have spilled the beans with a list containing more recognizable names, many remain unconvinced that justice will be served in this latest case.

Will the cases touch more powerful figures? This early, we are sensing an exit game of sorts — perhaps a way out for some, faces scratched but saved.

And if the people get distracted by the ripples, they may miss the big waves and, in the process, miss the big fish. Again.

Our attention to date is caught by piles of paper containing complaints against small fry caught through their personal vices. These men were careless and arrogant in their stealing spree, giving Senator Ping Lacson the teeth to sink into their branded coattails.

Such arrogance is, in fact, a slap at our vaunted lawmakers and department heads who, in this case, appear either negligent in their duties or in collusion with the criminals.

This case that appears to be moving may satisfy a little, but we must not take our eyes off the senators and congressmen who are, in truth, in the eye of the storm.

For what does a change in leadership in the chambers of Congress mean to us ordinary folks?

Listen to their words, and tell yourself they still want to pursue this to the end — whether or not heads roll within their ranks.

How naïve are we to still believe that politicians, some of whom are possibly deeply entrenched in this system of rot, will take this beyond their comfort zones?

At this point in time, when Filipinos are raging at the revelations they had just been served, it seems some people are getting ready to bury this deep — as deep as their greed.