Graft and Corruption in the Philippine Setting
The terms "corruption" and "graft" go together quite nicely. Graft pertains
to the illegal acquisition or gain of money or favor through illegal means, while
corruption pertains to the behavior of public officials in the practice of using
power of office for making private gain in breach of laws and regulations
nominally in force. Corruption follows a certain formula, which is C = (M+D) - (A
+ I + T), where C is corruption, M is monopoly, D is discretion, A is
accountability, I is integrity, and T is transparency. Likewise, corruption in the
Philippine setting arises from such a formula, has what he had seen from the
events that occurred during the Marcos era, particularly during martial law. The
concentration of governmental powers towards a single person and the use of
military force to enforce order to the people paired with the absence of
accountability, integrity, and transparency made up the government during the
Marcos era. From then on, the amount of corruption in the Philippine governance
increased, until it seemed to become the normal way to govern the country;
Corruption is the unforgiving monster that rattles and plagues the country, and
has become the biggest threat for the Philippines.
With the outgrowing prominence of corruption in the Philippines, the
government hasn't been low and is "doing its best" to curb and combat
corruption in the country. A number of governmental institutions like The Office
of the Ombudsman, Sandiganbayan, Commission on Audit, Department of
Justice, etc., have been established and several laws such as R.A. 6713, and R.A.
7080, have been passed to help aid the fight against corruption in the country.
Many cases of graft have been filed in the Sandiganbayan and judicial rulings
have been made resulting in the punishment and imprisonment of such
offenders. If such institutions are handling cases and offenders are being caught,
then why is corruption still a big threat to the country? This is where we take a
deeper look into the root cause of the subject. The problem does not lie in the
interpretation, implementation and regulation of such laws to combat corruption,
but rather the problem lies in the specific system that plagues the governance of
leaders in the country. The problem lies in the hypocritical leaders that speak of
corruption as a grave sin but are corrupt themselves; in fact Government officials
both in the local and national level are reported to take part in some kind of
corruption, and even justices of the Supreme Court and judges of trial courts
have been reported to accept bribes and in return, publish a ruling that favors
the one giving.
One such event that comes to mind when I think about the lack of
competence, transparency, and the amount of corruption that roams around the
Philippine government is the impeachment of former Chief Justice Renato
Corona. During the 44-day trial, the defense has made strong claims as to why
the accused is innocent, citing every error of the prosecution. On the last day of
the trial, Renato Corona was pronounced guilty, with a 20-3 senatorial vote. In
2015, reports have been made and a controversy regarding the decision
bombarded news outlets in the Philippines. The alleged controversy claims that
the senators that voted to convict Renato Corona had received bribes from the
incumbent Philippine President at the time, Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino III himself.
Prior to the trial, Aquino and Corona had engaged in a conflict, which provided a
resolution for the bribery to happen. Death came to Corona in April 2016,
without a proper trial and confirmation of the verdict amidst the controversy. As
of writing, Corona is still convicted guilty, but the controversy remains. The 44day trial, as preceded by corrupt officials was clearly indefensible and unjust, and
without a proper trial to address such controversy, his innocence is as clear and
compelling as the malice and guilt of his congressmen-accusers and senatorjudges. The doubt and uncertainty in the ruling of this case, even going as far as
twisting the law and the system to which it belongs to goes to show just how
much corruption is crippling the Philippine government. The problem lies on the
system, and if the system itself is flawed, can we even hope to change the
government and finally eradicate corruption?
The fight against graft and corruption does not lie only in the hands of our
leaders. Don't get me wrong, leadership is a keen component in fighting such a
monster, but when the leaders themselves are harboring these monsters, the
fight now shifts into our own hands. We, the citizens of the Philippines make up
the society and the sovereignty of the Philippines - not our leaders and not our
government alone, but us collectively. We have the capability to bring change;
we have the capability to fight this monster with our bare hands. By demanding
fairness, not just from others, but from ourselves. By insisting that we fall in line
even when we can go ahead. By refusing special treatment that goes against the
law, no matter how much it works for our benefit. By having the courage to
speak up, not turning a blind eye on injustices and unfairness. By having the
courage to fight for the Filipino people.
The 1987 Philippine Constitution favors the citizens because it was made
for us. The law was not made for corrupt officials and government to take over,
but the law was made for the Filipino people. We should demand a fair, just,
transparent, responsible and accountable government because we, as citizens of
the Republic of the Philippines, have the right to be free from the chains that
imprison us in our very own country - the chains of corruption.
The law is for us, and the fight is on us - the future of eradicating
corruption in the Philippines lies on our hands.