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Thursday, March 24, 2005
Editorial: Containing graft and corruption
One of the most disarming clichés Filipino politicians and public officials do not fail to rattle off when speaking in public is that “a public office is a public trust.”
It is as if the speaker, by saying the phrase before the people, is already conveying both a reaffirmation that he is going to behave well in office as well as a reassurance of his dedication and commitment to public service.
Yet the phrase, although as a cliché it sounds so overused or abused, nonetheless carries a verity quite difficult even in our era of cynicism to belittle or ignore.
Skeptics there are many in our times, especially regarding pronouncements of high officials in government about their goodness. Having gone through the gamut of promises and vows, the people have become unbelievers.
There was a time when the Filipino placed so much value on the family name. Hence, it was not unusual to read in the vernacular or Spanish weeklies of the time stories about people enmeshed in neighborhood rumble because a member of the family was insulted or dishonored and so their name had to be redeemed.
Sadly, that moment in our history has long been consigned to a nook in our collective memory, recalled only on the sly when it becomes necessary to refer to it to buttress an argument in favor of one’s presumption of personal effectiveness as a civil servant, or to strengthen one’s standing as an upright public official before a gathering of constituents.
With the country now challenged as to the perceived widespread corruption in the ranks of government, there is a flurry among members of the incumbent national leadership to correct the perception.
Recent international survey of governments in Asia and the Pacific Rim showed that the Philippines is second to the bottom of the list of the most corrupt governments. Such a reality is deeply painful to accept.
And perceived as the center of graft and corruption in our government are the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) and the Bureau of Customs, the reason why there is an on-going investigation on the lifestyle of some of the two agencies’ officials.
BIR has even gone on to propose and undertake a “shame campaign” against those proven to be corrupt among them. The aim is both to curtail and prevent its proliferation.
But really, to discourage the commission of graft and corruption in public office is not just to sow fear in being discovered.
It should also be anchored on the notion that the family name and pride, once besmirched devalues and devastates the dignity of every family member down through the years, a blotch on the Filipino honor as a people.
(March 24, 2005 issue)
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