Business groups are making their presence felt in the anti-corruption protests, as many are losing confidence that there will be a satisfactory resolution to the corruption crisis.
An industry captain believes that the current dispensation has lost the initiative in resolving the entrenched practice of pocketing public funds since the leadership itself is suspected of being among the crooks.
Speaking on the eve of the Bonifacio Day anti-corruption mobilization, former Finance Secretary Ramon del Rosario said that the “one at the top” must have the moral standing to institute and lead the application of the solution to the massive rot that has afflicted the government.
“The one on top of the government has to be a leader who has the moral standing to implement and lead in the formulation of reforms. Otherwise, they will go nowhere,” the industrialist explained.
He added that “if the leader himself is corrupt, if the leader himself shows that he doesn’t care about corruption or tolerates corruption, then forget about it.”
For the complex process of overhauling the government to happen on a large scale, “you need the leader at the top.”
Thus, he asked, “Does our leader, does our president still have the moral standing to lead?”
Most Filipinos are looking toward 2028, when the next presidential elections are held, not to keep repeating the nation’s dark history.
According to Del Rosario, it is incumbent upon Filipinos to ensure that the elections result in leaders who will inspire the nation to believe it will have a brighter future, because the people deserve it.
It has to be leadership that inspires the Filipino people to come together and work.
In the 39 years since Marcos Sr. won, several good administrations “where people were willing to rally around them” had been in place.
The crucial element is confidence in the government, a factor the rest of the world also weighs when assessing the country’s attractiveness as an investment destination, alongside corruption ratings and similar indicators.
All is not lost; there are institutions that the business sector relies on to step up despite uncertainties in governance.
“If the president and his administration are really sincere, they really should push for the empowerment of the Independent Commission on Infrastructure, which is impotent due to lack of funding and staffing.” It also lacks subpoena power or the ability to compel the production of documents and information.
The ICI has drawn criticism for allegedly serving as a tool to shield the masterminds, as its investigation focuses on the implementers of the kickback scheme rather than the power brokers who manipulated the national budget from which the funds were siphoned.
Reforms are not possible under the Marcos administration, which has been implicated by several witnesses who were once part of the racket.
Unless Marcos comes clean, it would be futile for him to expect Filipinos to rally behind his leadership in cleaning up the very muck he is widely believed to have enabled, if not initiated.
The crisis of confidence will not dissipate unless Marcos orders the tearing down of the wall of secrecy surrounding the scandal.
The window for decisive action is closing fast and with it, the nation’s patience.