That the Philippines has long been wallowing in a ‘Culture of Corruption’ has been common knowledge ever since the ‘Conjugal Dictators’ inebriated themselves with Power for 20 long years and made Corruption a very lucrative ‘profession’, if not a ‘way of life’! I can still vividly remember the pre-election conversations my parents had with their almost weekly dinner guests at home in the 60s when my dad was just having his first taste of success as a Physician. Having been locked in an easy to choose from 2 Party Political System at that time, I couldn’t help absorbing the ‘tension’ then as most of my parents’ friends also belonged to the Liberal Party and were, thus, hoping and praying that their then incumbent President, Diosdado Macapagal, would win a second term despite the arrival of his undeniably very charismatic Presidential rival from the Solid North, sharp and glib-tongued Sen. Ferdinand E. Marcos! Of course, Pres. Macapagal had his unblemished and progressive 4 year record to show as a sort of ‘political capital’ which everyone in his party thought was enough to win the elections. But since Marcos already had a Master Plan on ‘How to Win the Presidency and Keep It Forever’, ever since he was reviewing for the Bar in Jail, ‘Cong Dadong’s’ dreams of a second Presidential term were drowned out in the Popular Wave that brought Mr. Marcos all the way up to Malacanang Palace, where he and his Imelda were ‘destined’ to live like ‘Royalty’ (in the midst of Poverty) beyond their wildest dreams, for 20 long years, which also saw them ‘OWN’ gold and diamonds, landed properties, thriving businesses, and which ever else they set their greedy eyes on! And thus, lo and behold, ‘MEGA CORRUPTION’, in every sense of the word, was born!

        Before Ferdinand Marcos came into the picture to introduce that alleged ‘Systematic Large-Scale Corruption’, Ferdinand Magellan, our Spanish Discoverer, christened the Philippines: ‘Islas de Ladrones’ or Islands of Thieves, most probably because of some first-hand unfortunate experience that he had with the Islands’ native inhabitants! Unfortunately, the ‘THIEVERY’ must have been so virulent that it has lasted up to the present and even ‘infected’ the highest offices in and out of Government! The Conjugal Dictators, for their part, INSTITUTIONALIZED it up to the point that enriching oneself while serving in a Public Office became the rule rather than the exception! The “Everybody’s doing it so why don’t I also do it” ATTITUDE thus came to be. And we have had to contend with a lot of DUMMIES and HYPOCRITES pretending to be Holier than Pres. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, just to be able to win elections, when in truth and in fact, they have always had their own ‘Billion Dollar Skeletons’ safely tucked inside their ‘sanitized’ closets, ever since! ‘Sosmaryosep!’ It really is so demoralizing to think that even those guys who we have been idolizing as the Epitomes of Honesty have finally succumbed to Corruption and now have several hundred millions in real properties cleverly kept in the names of ‘dummies’ just like Ferdinand Marcos, who, nevertheless, still lost a sizable part of his ill-gotten wealth when he died, simply because these ‘trustworthy’ ‘dummies’ claimed the properties for their own and had the last laugh!

        What is still so regrettable is the fact that the Marcoses, during those Martial Law years, tried to prop themselves up in a ‘sea of bayonets’ by ‘allowing’ the Military, then, to also indulge in their own corrupt ‘games and practices’! Besides, the ‘if they are doing it, then why don’t we also do it’ attitude must’ve been so ingrained in their minds that it has even managed to survive up to the present! “To Serve and Protect”, oftentimes, becomes “To Serve and COLLECT”! And the ‘protectors’ sometimes become the Crime ‘INSTIGATORS’ themselves, all in the rotten name of CORRUPTION! Even the supposed to be ‘BARKERS of the Truth’ have been using their airtimes to ply their ‘A.C./D.C.’ (Attack and Collect/Defend and Collect) ‘professions’ which usually ‘peak’ during the Campaign Season when most of them stand to gain more than enough to buy that dream Car or House or just simply go on a well-deserved Tour just to rest their hanging tongues and drying mouths after all those Marathon Commentaries which brainwashed everyone into voting for the guys who paid them oh so generously! And they all insist on ‘crucifying’ PGMA for the still INCONCLUSIVE and AMBIGUOUS crime of ‘Cheating’! Such modern day holier-than-thou Pharisees have been thumping their breasts AS IF they never committed any crime against God and their Consciences since birth! HYPOCRITES! ‘Mama Mia’! Even the lowly rice or meat dealer in the Public Market just can’t seem to be happy without being able to ‘cheat’ their buyers by several grams less, and even the Convenience Stores take out several slices from their loaves of bread to be able to make extra loaves and rake in more profits! A ‘compadre’ went to a big hospital in Metro Manila once, with a ‘stomach ache’ and a hang-over. He unknowingly went into a Surgeon’s clinic where he ended up having an Exploratory Laparotomy done on him. His NORMAL appendix was taken out, together with approx. P100, 000 from his bank! Not to be outdone, I was told of a ‘story’ wherein 2 top-notch Lawyers from contending parties were having a drink and one of them wanted to finish his defense quick as he had other cases to take care of. Well, the other told him to ‘go slow’ as he still had several more months to go before his house mortgage would be fully paid! ‘Sosmaryosep’! And we still insist on pointing a finger at others, even if three other fingers are pointing back AT US! Indeed, what we have here is a ‘Crisis of Attitudes’! Most of us are so good at finding the easiest and fastest way to make a buck MINUS the sacrifice involved! Some ‘invest’ their time, money, and good names just to be able to win that all important SIGNING PRIVILEGE that goes with being a Public ‘Servant’. Luckily, they end up winning the Election AND several millions of pesos more, which, however, they have to keep locked-up in several banks in their dummies’ names while trying to enjoy ‘AS IF’ they weren’t rich lives, until they can safely ‘fly’ to the Land of their Dreams with all the PELF that their ‘Public Service’ was able to amass!

        These guys will then have to get used to living hypocritical lives of DENIAL and try to get used to putting on an ‘innocent’ face whenever accusations of Corruption are leveled at them! Of course, after all these years, they shall have mastered the technique of ‘convincing’ us of their ‘dumb innocence’, but the big question is: Have they also managed to fool their Consciences and their God?