I think a corrupt government like what we have here in the Philippines is like a sick patient who refuses to acknowledge that he is sick. When a doctor encounters a sick patient, the first responsibility of the doctor is to make sure that the patient acknowledges that he is indeed sick. But there are really patients who prefer to believe that they are not sick and will get angry when the doctor tells them they are sick. That is why I believe corrupt government is like a sick patient.
A corrupt government is like a sick patient in that there are parts of the sick patient that are really corrupted, dying and beyond the scope of treatment. But there are also parts that are still okay and merit being saved from the corruption that has eaten away at the sicker parts. The sick parts have their days numbered already, meaning eventually they will meet their demise - that is a given due to natural laws of life. But it is possible to save the healthy parts if the sick parts are cauterized and amputated from the well parts. Like separating the goats from the sheep as Christ said. For the well-being of the entire patient, the corrupt parts need to be removed so that their toxic presence no longer pollutes the entire patient.
But I said that a corrupt government is like a sick patient who refuses to acknowledge that he is sick right? So a corrupt government will stubbornly cling on to the corrupt parts in the deluded belief that the very existence of the whole patient will be threatened if the corruption is to be removed. This is the sickness that is afflicting our government now, and the sad part is that even the healthy parts of the patient will go down with the corrupt parts eventually when corruption is not amputated and excised from the whole body.
Who then can correct this formula for death, wherein the days of our government are literally numbered? In any sick patient, towards the end, when the corrupt parts can no longer sustain life, these corrupt parts will drain the life out of the healthy parts in order to sustain their own lives. You can see this in any sick patient you encounter. The health and life of the healthy parts is sacrificed (unfairly) to sustain the health and life of the corrupt parts. But in the end, not even all the energy and resources of any healthy part will be enough to sustain the life of the entire patient, or even of the parasitic corrupt parts. In the final analysis, it is a formula for death and the whole patient will collapse, go into a coma, and die a natural death.
And we wonder why the middle class and the educated are fleeing for better living conditions in other countries? That is simply a survival reflex. The question is: how can this deplorable situation of the sick patient be completely reversed? it is a mystery.
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eohatta wrote on Nov 27, '07 yes. but you know philippine culture - respect for elders. for instance, if you encounter a lolo in your community whom you know is corrupt, would you have the moral high ground based on culture to confront him? in phil culture, that would be even more reprehensible than the lolo who is corrupt. you see it all around. yes, i agree it starts with small things. i see these adults who throw garbage all around, burn garbage like plastic, jaywalk, break traffic rules...all that sort of thing. yet they don't see themselves as corrupt. to them, that stuff is okay. wala naman sa ten commandments ang do not litter di ba? so that makes it okay. wala rin sa ten commandments ang do not burn plastic so okay lang. i think that's why God gave us a conscience, so that we would have the common sense to know when something is blatantly wrong then correct it ourselves. Christ kept stressing: I desire mercy not sacrifice. It does no good to go to Church and say all these prayers if your faith does not translate into action. |
cirxesoul86 wrote on Nov 28, '07 corruption is not a simple case like an illness. yes, i agree that a corrupt government is indeed a sick government. and i also agree that when a part of a body is infected the others will, sooner or later, also be affected. but id like to point out the case of Korea and India. Korea and India have corrupt governments. that is not a question, it is a fact. (Not as worse as ours, but it is also notable.) however, despite this, Korean and India has progressed. Can corruption really be a pitfall of a government? have you noticed that richer countries have lower incidence of corruption than in poorer countries?.. so, im going to leave a question for everyone to ponder on ~~ Is philippines poor/sick/disabled because we are corrupt? OR Is philippines corrupt because we are poor/sick/disabled? again, corruption is not just a simple case similar to theft or robbery or even an illness. |
eohatta wrote on Nov 28, '07 it was jose rizal who first pointed out that corruption in society (ergo govt too) is a cancer, in el filibusterismo. remember that conversation between him and elias? i don't know if richer countries really have a lower incidence of corruption than poorer countries.i don't know where you based that data. one of my roommates in the bedspace in UP Village I was staying in studied in the US for four years. As the child of a Filipino lawyer, she knows what govt corruption is. accdg to her, govt corruption is way worse in the US than here, much much worse. it just doesn't get played up very much because of course the US has to keep up its image that it is the bastion of free world democracy. the worse cases of corruption are with regards to taxes. next would be drugs. and it's interesting that you cite Korea (i assume you mean south korea?) if life is so good there, why are they leaving in droves to come here? i know if my home country were an ideal place, i would never want to leave, not even to make tons of money. u have a point i agree with your last statement re: is the phils poor/sick/disabled bec we are corrupt? OR is the phils corrupt bec we are poor/sick/disabled? that's like a chicken or the egg question, isn't it? and at this point in time, does it really matter? to cure this govt, you need to work at cleansing it in all directions: top down, bottom up, inside out. it's like that question about the light bulb: how many psychologists does it take to change a light bulb? answer: just one, but the light bulb really has to want to change. there is another joke i know that applies here: if you analyze a bastard for seven years, after seven years he will still be a bastard - but at least he will be an analyzed bastard. |
cirxesoul86 wrote on Nov 29, '07, edited on Nov 29, '07 im not going to pick up a fight here. but, im going to expound what i have just said or at least, make things clearer.. so, sources? ... my dear, even before i started to write anything on this page, i already know what im going to write and i even had my thoughts checked again. let me see.. can your friend's opinion based on experience be really considered as a reliable data? tell you what, my aunt (a naturalized citizen of America) and my uncle (a natural-born American) says "America is the best country. You can see where your taxes are going..!" which one shall i believe, your friend or my aunt and uncle? . Talk about experience. Anyway, Ill give you my reliable sources. 1. http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0781359.html - Transparency International. this should clear out whether richer countries are less corrupt or not. Do your statistics, though. Count. 2. Hong Kong-based Political & Economic Risk Consultancy Ltd -There appeared to be a link between income levels and corruption, PERC said. Developed countries such as Singapore tended to fare the best, while those perceived to be most corrupt had the least developed economies 3. “The Anti-Development State: The Political Economy of Permanent Crisis in the Philippines” by Walden Bello. - I have read the entire book and I suggest you read it, too. If you don’t know the author, then I also suggest you look for his biography. Anyway, I was quite shocked on how you came up to a conclusion that my question was similar to the chicken-egg question. I never ever thought one would take it as that. Perhaps, it would be better for me to answer my question which seems unanswerable to some. Is philippines poor/sick/disabled because we are corrupt? OR Is philippines corrupt because we are poor/sick/disabled? Actually I based this question from Walden Bello’s book. (look up). I would have wanted you to read the whole book but id like to spoil the fun this time. The truth of the matter is WE ARE CORRUPT BECAUSE WE ARE POOR. This may sound revolutionary but it is as it is. It could never be the other way around. Koreans. Hmmnn… Actually, I have worked with them for one whole year. I never only worked with one person but at least 40 of them for a whole year coming from various places and fields in S. Korea. A food engineer, a designer, a journalist, a management major, a nurse, a pharmacist. Name it all. It’s not because Korea is a bad place that they are all coming here. They have several reasons which I believe you are familiar with. First, traveling has become a TREND in Korea. Second, to study English. Third, for men, to escape compulsory Military service. Now, let me ask you. Why are Koreans going back to Korea after a few years studying English in the Philippines and in other countries? Wouldn't’t it be better for them to stay in English-speaking countries where they can have better lives than in Korea (as what you say)? Anyway, yes Korea is a difficult country to live in owing to the very high prices. But, why do you think the prices are high? Don’t you think it’s because of the law of supply and demand especially those relating to apartments (or condo in the Philippines)? I don’t want to explain further about this.. Korea has a very stiff job competition. Companies would want to hire someone who can speak English and would favor those persons who have been to other countries with a lot of experience.. But the salaries are a lot higher than ours. Perhaps, if I worked there I could earn a minimum of P100,00.00. Enough to live in Korea but not enough to buy luxurious items. Anyway, too much for Koreans. It’s a matter of culture and practice that most Filipinos would really find it hard to understand. Btw, what do you really mean by corruption? About drugs? Are you kidding me? ..According to the Corruption (Prevention) Act 2000 7 Regulation 2002 by the COMMISSION FOR THE PREVENTION OF CORRUPTION of America, corruption is simply defined as “ the misuse of public office for private gain for the benefit of the holder of the office or some third party.” But then again, corruption is a much more complex issue. Finally, I want to tell everybody again that corruption should not be seen as an illness. It is not an illness. However, corruption is only a symptom of a much bigger problem – POVERTY. Poverty is the illness. with your "bastard" joke.. Are you telling me that the philippines has no chance of becoming clean again? Philippines will continue to be corrupt and we can find comfort by the fact that our country is an analyzed corrupt country. Is this what you mean by that joke? I guess this is it. This is going to be my last post for this article. P.S. i should know all about this since i was majoring in political science and currently majoring in economics. studying keeps me critical... |
eohatta wrote on Nov 29, '07 hmmm. ok. let me reply one by one to your points: 1. you doubt my friend because she is just one source and you say that you have relatives in the US who can attest that the US is a very good country to live in because "you can see where your taxes are going". my friend is not my only source of data about the US. i have relatives there too, including one aunt who lives in a California community where many Mafia families live. so she would know about corruption in the US because she is surrounded by people who live, breathe and die by corruption. not that she herself is corrupt but she knows quite a few people who are corrupt there. and she herself says that life in the US is not all sweetness and light. if you want me to cite instances where corruption beneath the surface was exposed, well, do you remember Rodney King - the poor Negro who got a plunger stuck up his ass by LA police officers, thus sparking the LA riots? did you know too that the Kennedys which produced the great JFK derived their wealth from graft and corruption during all their years in government service? (you may consult the book entitled "The Fitzgeralds and The Kennedys" for that.) and of course, more recently would be the spate of whistleblowers who exposed the big-time corruption at many very large corporations (most notorious being ENRON) where the top CEOs spearheaded faking of accounting records so big time taxes would not be charged to them. YOUR BASIC PREMISE cirxesoul86 is that POVERTY CAUSES CORRUPTION. My follow up is: DOES IT? The LA police officers are some of the most highly compensated in the US, yet look what they did, and what they did afterwards to cover up for that. The Kennedys became rich through corruption and even when they were comfortable already never made any effort to return the money they siphoned off government funds (instead you have JFK Jr. using such blood money to put up his foundation, which is a nice way of laundering moneya actually while cleaning the family name.) The ENRON CEOs and top management are literally multi millionaires yet they managed to pull off whole-scale fraud so they could avoid paying taxes (and of course they had help doing that from government auditors bec it is pretty hard to hide a large enterprises' income unless you have help from someone who is supposed to examine the books.) Yet the ENRON CEOs and top brass never did jail time for this true story - instead, you have the US Govt going after poor Martha Stewart who simply pulled out her money from stocks from the stock market and never stole any money from anyone. why did that happen, do you think? You cite so many sources, but did you know that it is the Americans themselves who say their country is corrupt? So many people cited the case of ENRON when Martha Stewart was put into jail, yet govt refused to act on the proven tax fraud cases anyway. All the ENRON top people got was a light spanking on the wrist and they got off scott free. I think your theory that POVERTY CAUSES CORRUPTION is flawed. GREED CAUSES CORRUPTION, not poverty. I know because you are applying your theory to the Philippine setting. I have lived with people from the squatters here in the city, and also with poor people in the province, and I know that it is GREED THAT CAUSES CORRUPTION because these people would rather die than become corrupt. GREED COMES FROM THE HEART AND FEEDS THE MIND AND POISONS THE SOUL. That is the progression. Poverty has very little to do with it because before you get to the point that you would want to steal, you would exhaust all options first to find a livelihood IF YOU ARE NOT CORRUPT AT HEART. Case in point: I met a man at FB Harrison St near Vito Cruz St in Metro Manila. He was deaf and dumb (a deaf mute) yet he made his living selling basahan (you know, those circular rags that sell for P5 per 5 pieces) on that street daily. How does a deaf mute do business? Simple, he wrote down his prices for his goods on a neat piece of cardboard. When you showed him your money and pointed to the rags, he would show you his sign. You would then point to what price you were willing to pay based on his price list, and he would hand over the basahan and any change if there was any. A DEAF MUTE BEING MORE HONEST THAN MANY PEOPLE WHO HAVE ALL THEIR SENSES IS PROOF THAT POVERTY DOES NOT CAUSE CORRUPTION. A DEAF MUTE WHO CAN WORK DESPITE HIS PHYSICAL FLAWS IS PROOF THAT NOT ALL FILIPINOS BECOME CORRUPT DUE TO POVERTY. Anyway, that's all I have to say for now. thanks. |
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