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Corruption has been the disease that has wounded our nation far more than we would like to admit. Yet the stink can no longer be masked by perfumed promises.
Corruption has been the disease that has wounded our nation far more than we would like to admit. Yet the stink can no longer be masked by perfumed promises.
The story is not new, about some government official’s driver acting more boss than the real boss. He gets out of the Lexus, dark-tinted and shiny, of course. He bullies the other car’s driver, slapping involved and says things that are caught on camera.
We have heard it before, when sometimes a threat with a gun ends up with an actual bullet in someone’s head. Yet none of the heads that should roll ever actually do within our line of vision.
That road rage incident that landed a Department of Transportation undersecretary in hot water is but the latest among countless others where politicians, government officials and their relatives, friends and even employees exercise privileges they are not entitled to.
Do we rail against them or do we blame ourselves?
We love to complain, loudly, cracking sharp jokes that never cut to the chase.
Just like the Senate that loves to conduct investigations, though a blue ribbon will never be conferred on these exercises in futility.
Abuso, abusado. Outraged, Filipinos spout the harsh terms to those who act like gods among them, yet we never do much more than that. More often than not, we raise our fists only to end up scratching our heads.
In a country where issues very often get intertwined with personal attacks, the tipping point may be near enough to make the entitled few squirm in their plush seats.
This paper’s headline yesterday spoke of “A nation disillusioned.” When surveys reveal massive discontent, and 97 percent is no joking matter, government should sit up and act fast.
Corruption has been the disease that has wounded our nation far more than we would like to admit. Yet the stink can no longer be masked by perfumed promises. We have bridges collapsing, cities flooding and traffic unabating — more than these, budgets ballooning, congressmen disappearing and investigations floundering.
More than lowly officials who feel a need for security personnel, it’s the bigwigs that need to be exposed out of their dark-tinted recesses. But doing so will take more than the occasional protest, or even a barrage of memes and reels.
It will take a concerted effort of that 97 percent claiming disillusionment in a government sunk in widespread corruption.
After all, what follows disillusionment is change.
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