Which came first? Corruption in Church? Or corruption in government? Does one feed off the other? Remember Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo — required reading in high school that meant little to us because we had not yet begun to live?
The scale of corruption in our country today is staggering. How did we get here — at this deplorable state of moral decay, greed and normalcy?
I know corruption exists globally. In almost every country I’ve been to, locals complain about corruption in government. They complain about the shortcuts their government officials make in infrastructure projects. Sound familiar?
But truth be told, their roads are wide, gleaming and pothole-free. I almost want to say, you should see ours. But I stay mum. It’s not a competition. And if it were, it wouldn’t be great to get the top prize.
I know corruption exists in practically all sectors of society. I accept we don’t live in a perfect world. But corruption shouldn’t be accepted as standard or normal.
I was raised politically-aware. My siblings and I fought over who got dibs over the newspaper on a daily basis. Political issues were dinner-table topics.
We never could understand why corruption is so prevalent in our country when our country prides itself in being a Catholic stronghold — not just in Asia but in the world, the only country, in fact, aside from the Vatican City, to have successfully blocked the passage of divorce.
But should we be proud? Men do as they please. Women are expected to please. Men are called studs, women, sluts, for exactly the same reason. We shamelessly wear our hypocrisy on our sleeves.
Why? Could it be because of the prolonged abuse of power committed by both the Church and the government in this country? Not everyone is a bad egg. But there are only a few, good eggs.
Government keeps increasing taxes. What for? We do not need more taxes. The people do not need to contribute a single centavo more into government coffers that are only being mercilessly scraped clean by corrupt government officials.
Billions of public funds stolen in flood-control projects every day — through cuts and commissions, substandard and ghost projects. And that’s just for flood-control projects — just the tip of the iceberg.
Where is love of country — when you steal from your own? Where is patriotism? It’s not how you look or where you come from, what matters is how much you care and contribute to this country—that is the true measure of your love for this country.
All that money could have gone to healthcare, housing, education, skills-building. But so many seem to have lost a conscience in this predominantly-churchgoing country.
I cannot understand how a largely-practicing Catholic country can be so debased: selling their own children online to predators, scamming the old, weak and vulnerable, maintaining stables of mistresses, lining personal pockets with public funds that could have saved millions of people from disease, death and generational poverty.
I find it difficult to reconcile how the same employee who attends mass every Sunday is also a chronic liar and regular slacker at work. I have witnessed split-level Christianity all my life.
Politicians stealing from the people and contributing it to the Church. The Church doesn’t say it but it does seem to send the message that anyone can buy their way into the kingdom of God for the right price.
Today, I ponder on Philippine national hero Dr. Jose Rizal’s seminal works on corruption and abuse by both clergy and government officials. Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo were written some 130 years ago but sadly, still resonate.