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Thursday, February 9, 2012

Corruption in real life

HE SAYS
Corruption in real life
By Aldrin Cardon

He can drive a Porsche on a P12,000 monthly salary.

It is not much, but a government clerk — working at a very lucrative Bureau of Customs — did.

He can hold a sensitive government position, even with a background on financial honestly long in question.

He did not mind it at all. In fact, he sought the appointment from no less than the president who, in his inaugural speech, vowed clean governance at all cost.

Yet, the appointing power looked the other way — away from the straight path he had promised, in favor of the friend he favored most.

In a sudden, the case of graft he’s facing no longer mattered. And he passed the scrutiny of the vaunted search committee, whose supposed task was to find clean, honest men to surround the president.

The aide is now under suspension, yet his long presence in the president’s team had already besmirched his sponsor’s projected want of men with unsullied reputation. Oh how foolish are we to believe him, when most of the main players in his team used to be the main players in Gloria Macapagal Arroyo’s thievery.

Oh, Gloria! She is now in jail, sent there by no less than the same team that deserted its captain when the boat was about to sink. They have changed collars and colors at will, but even this cannot change the fact that the country has remained trapped in the same pothole that could not be filled, even with hope.

Two presidents have been ousted, another one is now in jail, all in favor of the Philippines’ continuing saga towards political maturity, if we are ever headed toward it.

Marcos was ousted primarily on the issue of corruption. He had sent the Philippines on a downward spiral. He left the country’s coffers with none, taking some with him on his escape from the angry mob, everything his plane could carry, including his wife who was his greatest possession.

Erap was ousted on the issue of gambling and giving favors to friends and relatives. He served jail time and was pardoned. Had Cory lived longer, Erap would have had another chance at the presidency. But history did not let him, and he will be best remembered for many things, including a wide belief that he was a victim of a conspiracy, counting or not the accuracy of the charges leveled against him.

And then Gloria.

If corruption was a game, who can beat her? Marcos is dead. Idi Amin gone.

Realizing this, Noynoy has found the greatest excuse for his failures by using Gloria for all his administration’s shortcomings.

Like Marcos was to Cory, and Erap was to Gloria, the pint-sized woman with the alleged vociferous appetite for corruption will stay in the top of Noynoy’s blame list as long as she lives.

Corruption has taken on many faces, and there seems no way for its extraction from our system.

Corruption has been there since Filipinos have learned to revolt against Spain. It stayed there even after they have won the first big war our forefathers fought. In fact, history showed internal wrangling has resulted not only in the fight for leadership of young Philippines, but also for the revolutionary fund which has gone missing along with the death and assassinations of some of our leading revolutionaries.

There was corruption in whatever form even in the presidencies that came before Marcos.

Marcos only made it bigger.

Gloria made it huge.

Ask privates and sergeants in our military and they will squeal facts related to their generals acquiring new mansions and islands in preparation for their retirement.

Listen to the walls of several government offices and you can hear foul wailings from contractors and bidders to government projects, big and small.

Look out of your car windows and you’ll see ‘em pricey cars bearing the No. 8 plates.

Damn, if a lowly Customs clerk could drive a Porsche, why can’t our “honorable leaders” drive more expensive coaches?

This, while we groan at the fact that there is an impending fare hike on the very modest transportation we could take — our very own Lambour-Jeepneys!

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