The taint of corruption, even by mere association with persons accused of such, can be very hard to wash off. And that, unfortunately, was used to leave a trail of doubt about Baguio City Mayor Benjamin Magalong, who on 27 September chose to give up his stint after two weeks as special adviser to the Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI).
The ICI being tasked with investigating anomalous infrastructure projects in the last decade, it was initially enough of a challenge to narrow down the names that could pass public scrutiny. Who would be credible enough to conduct investigations into graft and corruption?
Following shocking details of the Floodgate’s massive, unfettered greed (which was but one crucial aspect of the national budget — the tip of the iceberg, as they say), Filipinos may well have lost all patience for politicians of any color.
Falling bridges, potholes on major roads, floods galore versus a national budget that increases exponentially with every passing year — it doesn’t take an ICI or even a Magalong to let people know just how “callous” the corrupt have become.
Even Senator Panfilo Lacson was not spared from speculation after a photo of the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee head came out showing him with the contractor-couple Curlee and Sarah Discaya. The senator roundly doused the burgeoning rumors of a secret or past association with the couple whose construction firms are now regarded with disdain, if not rage.
The point, however, is that no amount of denial can convince a flooded republic that anyone in government is completely untouched by the rot. And malice is the mud that makes the rounds when everyone is seeking the truth and demanding accountability.
On leaving the ICI, Magalong gave hints that he must have struck a nerve to get him eased out. Yet while expressing faith in the ICI, he presents a stark reality that puts the ball back in our court.
He pointed to politicos, bureaucrats and contractors as the main players in the public works scandal alone, describing the system as having become “a cottage industry, a livelihood program.”
Expostulating, “My god, ganyan na ba tayo kawalanghiya ngayon? (Is that how shameless we have become)?” Magalong railed, for one, at the accused congressman who also resigned following the backlash, calling the latter’s actions a “hypocrisy.”
“The level, the depth and the magnitude — it’s overwhelming,” he said.
That the thievery was able to flourish to this scale, hidden even carelessly as to insult the people’s intelligence, is a call for us to continue seeking the truth. There must be a mechanism of transparency and accountability, and Magalong puts forth the idea of adopting blockchain technology to address the “structural, systemic and highly syndicated” corruption in the country.
In fact, ghost projects are not our only problem.
Magalong, in recent interviews drew attention to the Health department’s possible questionable practices as “budget deliberations revealed that only 200 out of 600 health centers built under the Health Facilities Enhancement Program are operational due to a shortage of personnel,” a report said.
These billions worth of “haunted” or incomplete health centers around the country (along with those falling bridges and those potholed avenues and highways) merely hint at just how monstrous our problem really is as a nation.
Yet how simple is the solution: use the money where it should go!