Let’s stop beating around the bush, shall we? After all, we’re all adults here. At least, I would assume so.
I’d like to share something that has been bugging me since this brouhaha involving public works exploded in our faces. Until now, I find it hard to believe — and I mean really hard — that some people can be so naïve as to be shocked by revelations that Philippine politics is riddled with corruption.
I seriously don’t know what planet they’re living on, but it’s high time they take a reality check.
I get it. Others were aware of the goings-on but had chosen to go with the flow, as most of us have done, because the problem has become “systemic” and “all-pervasive.” No stone has been left unturned, as some would like to put it. But to pretend that it’s the first time they’ve ever heard of the problem is total hogwash.
Don’t tell me they’re only now noticing the elephant even though it has almost filled the room with its caca.
But hey, better late than never. Right?
At least now the cat is out of the bag. No one can claim ignorance. At least, not anymore.
Which brings me to the ongoing Senate Blue Ribbon Committee hearing and congressional inquiry on the matter.
Watching them politicos grill so-called corrupt contractors and public works officials has had me on the edge of my seat, clutching, sweating, and finally retching like there’s no tomorrow.
Come on. Who are we kidding here? These people should stop insulting public intelligence.
Oh wait. We’re talking about the same public who managed to free themselves from the shackles of oppression after fighting for more than a decade to depose a dictator only to elect his progeny to the seat the elder was forced to vacate.
Go figure.
And yet it grates on my ears — the voice of one legislator as he defends himself from the allegations of a dismissed public works official. Granted, the speech is delivered in a language I’m not well-versed in (and it has nothing to do with me being anti-Imperial Manila or anti-Tagalog; I’m neither), still I get the gist of what he was trying to put across.
He is of the people, for the people, by the people, or something really corny like that, repeatedly bringing up his acquittal from plunder and bribery.
But hey, kudos to his performance because it was just that: a well-rehearsed performance, delivered impeccably like the seasoned professional that he is.
Still, because we live in a democracy, I will give him the benefit of the doubt. But as we all know, when there’s smoke, more often than not there is a fire. Which only shows you where I stand on the issue.
Well, at least, both proceedings have exposed what has long been swept under the rug amid cynical remarks and all-knowing smiles.
It’s a bitter pill to swallow for many, especially those who had endured all sorts of suffering as a result of government corruption but chose to look the other way. In a country where the majority is poor, morality has become a prime commodity that only the wealthy can well afford.
But that’s no excuse, nor does it relieve the public of accountability. Our collective silence is partly to blame by allowing the wound of corruption to fester. Now we are forced to confront the consequences as we watch the ongoing circus on our little screens.
Now, will you excuse me while I get off my high horse.