Tuesday, February 26, 2008 Aportadera: Apathy feeds injustice, greed and corruption By Billy Aportadera On rights and duties
FORMER President Fidel V. Ramos summed it when he said that Filipinos might have to come together again to fight the "greed, apathy, and corruption" that is creeping back into the country after it was dispelled by Edsa 1 in 1986.
"Around the world, the Philippines included, there are new tyrannies in the form of self-serving leaders, immoderately greedy autocrats, and cliques of corrupt officials that we must still confront.
History might yet call us to come together again -- to offer our lives and fortunes on the altar of our civic ideals. There are oligarchies, dynasties opportunists we have yet to banish from our political and economic life," Ramos said in his speech during the wreath laying ceremony at the Libingan ng mga Bayani on Friday, February 22.
Corruption by the greedy rich is the principal problem, not the petty corruption of the poor. Prosecution of the lowly policeman and MMDA traffic aid "committing kutong" does not in anyway address the heart of the problem of corruption in the Philippines. Prosecution of a middle level government bureaucrat for misusing a government vehicle during non-official time has insignificant impact in the fight against corruption.
Apathy of the people and their national leaders has fed the injustice, greed and corruption in the country today. Apathy has become the termite of our social and political structures, slowly but surely chipping off the moral fibers that bind Philippine society.
The President banners the apparent economic gains of the country. But these gains are hollow. They do not seep down to the Filipinos in the streets still wallowing in the quagmire of abject poverty. Behind these economic gains is the large scale plundering by the very officials who undertake these economic programs designed to spur development.
The insatiable greed of some public officials have spawned the P2 billion Fertilizer Fund Scam, the Diosdado Macapagal overpriced highway, the Text Book Scandal, and now the ZTE Broadband $130 Million commission. However, the apathy of the government agencies tasked to investigate and prosecute those involved in these shenanigans has emboldened the grafters and corrupters in government. It has also twisted the moral fiber of the people. Thus, greed and corruption is justified as long as it is "moderate."
Delicadeza, honor and integrity are no longer valued. Instead, public officials involved in graft and corruption cling to their positions "kapit toko," until they are extracted physically therefrom.
The JocJoc Bolante escapade and the Jun Lozada abduction reveal that government agencies have been co-opted by the corrupt system. Instead of investigating and prosecuting the grafters, heads of these agencies conspire to cover-up the crime of corruption.
Recent events show increasing signs that the people have enough of apathy and are taking strong positions against the injustice, greed and corruption amidst them. The confluence of factors that was EDSA 1 is in the offing. The Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines is calling for communal action. This is people's power by another nomenclature.
(Abelardo "Billy" Aportadera Jr., former Commissioner on Human Rights and former Assistant Ombudsman, is a practicing lawyer and a member of Philconsa, E-mail address: apo_lawoffice@pldtdsl.net; Web address: www.billyaportadera.com.ph)
