We were right, and it sucks.
For many years we’ve been saying that people run for office in order to steal. We say it half-jokingly, suspect it to be true, but hope that we are wrong.
Now we’ve confirmed that a massive chunk of our national budget is stolen via the pork barrel. Our taxes, money that should have gone to creating jobs, feeding the hungry, educating the young, building roads, schools and public infrastructure that won’t fall down when it rains, paying our teachers decent wages, supporting our soldiers and funding arts and culture programs, are plundered by the very people we count on to look after our interests, in cahoots with our so-called moral guardians.
It turns out that we were right, and it sucks. Worse, we put many of those thieves in their positions, which means that we have screwed ourselves.
How do we eliminate or even reduce corruption in a culture that enables and rewards it? First, we must reject it. Our silence in the face of recent revelations means that we condone corruption and accept it as a fact of life. That guarantees nothing will change. We may as well give medals to those who have robbed us.
The rally at Quirino Grandstand this morning is not a solution, but a message. The citizens are standing—in the most literal sense—against corruption. Pork barrel, PDAF, whatever you choose to call it, the enemy is corruption. No leaders are necessary because everyone agrees that corruption is foul and must be eradicated. Having no leaders may actually be an advantage—no one should be allowed to use our rage to further their political ambitions.
This is a simple show of numbers. The bigger the crowd, the louder the message: No More Corruption. Make This Happen.
Perhaps it is naive, but Lit majors never underestimate the power of the symbolic gesture. It’s a beginning. See where it goes.
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P.S. Our title for today’s rally:
Answers to questions you might be asking, unless you wandered onto this site purely by accident >>>
August 26th, 2013 at 10:35
the best solution : migrate
August 26th, 2013 at 12:11
You should go, and leave this country to the people who actually like it and want it to work.
This reply is directed at e-ripley only and not the people who migrate for real reasons.
August 26th, 2013 at 13:34
These past few weeks made me look at all my payslips for the past 12 years or so and see how much tax I paid.
Then I encounter floods, red tape, bureaucracy and worse, people who don’t have anything to eat or live in and it makes me want to hurl expletives and bitch slap those who misuse the country’s funds. I’m livid!
August 26th, 2013 at 15:59
To solve our problems we had to flee?
August 26th, 2013 at 18:04
The most irritating part of this is that those who siphoned off our tax money for their personal enjoyment act as though they are entitled to it. They proceed to behave as if they are earls and barons and all of us owe them feudal allegiance. They use our money to fund their affluent lives and flaunt it to our faces. I pay a considerable amount of tax and I want my money put to good use – better streets, better infrastructure, excellent transportation systems, good health services, and even well-lit streets!
On a very shallow note, it’s nice attending these sort of gatherings – lots of eye candy. There is such a thing as expressing outrage and ogling good-looking people at the same time.
August 26th, 2013 at 19:40
burrrneeeed! ha ha.
Go you good things! :D
August 26th, 2013 at 23:59
the chronicler of boredom: In effect we are paying for their absurd lifestyles. Para bang ang buwis mo ay ipinambili ng sportscar at Herve Leger ng anak ng kung sino, habang ang mga guro ay di nabibigyan ng tamang suweldo. Nakakangitngit.
Korek ka diyan hihi.
August 26th, 2013 at 23:59
i’ve left, 20 years ago, as an OFW, before the term was invented.
20 years ago, my salary of around 30,000 was not enough to send my five children to good school, not enough to purchase a decent house. i could have padded my salary, but that would have meant stealing from public funds, i worked in a government agency then.
in one tv interview, i remember you said you were considering migrating, too. so how much do you like this country, jessica?
August 27th, 2013 at 00:01
brewhuh23: Habang lumulusong sa baha, isipin mo na lamang na ang iyong buwis ay ginastos para sa mga SUV at yate ng mga mandurugas. At magkano nga ba ang upa noong pari sa bahay sa Forbes?
August 27th, 2013 at 01:05
e-ripley: We’re still here. For all its problems this is home, and in recent years professional opportunities for writers and artists have actually gotten better. Granted, we have no spawn so we can be selfish. When things get depressing, we go on a trip. Strangely enough, the more one travels, the more one gets attached to the Philippines (el demonio de las comparaciones).
It is irritating to see stupid, venal people making a jillion times what we earn from writing, but we also have the freedom to say exactly what we want. We read books, watch movies, and write stories every day. If we lived elsewhere, we might have to do actual work. So yes, we like this country.
By the way, this country paid for our education. It sent this nerd to Pisay, UP, and Yale (though that was a grant from the Americanski). We have to look after the other nerds.
August 27th, 2013 at 09:21
I don’t know about “getting more attached” as you travel more. But I do know I have come to appreciate the Phils and its people more after having lived in two other countries.
I think one of the main problems of most of our people is the lack of love for our own. And we’re not very nationalistic.
I remember I was on a boat in Palawan once. There was this masungit na middle-aged pinay with us on the boat. She was telling us that compared to other countries, our beaches must be really ugly. Sabi ko, hindi rin. Kung beaches lang din ang pag-uusapan, walang sinabi ang mga sikat at overrated ng mga kalapit-bansa natin kagaya ng Phuket at Bali… she didn’t seem convinced though.
August 27th, 2013 at 12:15
lola_basyang: Our attachment is to the material for fiction. Where else can we find stuff this weird to write about? We’re not very nationalistic either. Esp. the popular version of nationalism, which says something is automatically better because it is Filipino, or a performer’s talent comes from her being Filipino. But travel gives you perspective: you realize that living abroad may not be as fabulous as you imagine it to be. Hindi siya ganoon ka-bongga, naaasar ka lang sa Pilipinas.
One thing we’ve noticed about many Pinoys who left these islands decades ago: their idea of the Philippines is frozen in time. It’s as if nothing has happened here since they migrated. (Which is why concerned relatives send you balikbayan boxes full of corned beef, M&Ms and quilted toilet paper.) In the novels of the older Fil-American writers, it’s still the 70s. The setting is supposed to be present-day Manila, but the ambience is 1972.
Where else have you lived?
August 27th, 2013 at 13:31
Ito ay sub-plot ng kasalukuyang issue sa PDAF. Ito ay digression. Maaaring hindi ilathala.
Habang nanonood ng rally sa TV, nagsalita ang isa sa mga maka-Marcos at nagsabing, “Mas maigi pa noong panahon ni Marcos. Sayang si Marcos, sana’y hindi siya nawala sa pwesto. Sana’y hindi siya NAMATAY. Kahit corrupt siya, marami naman siyang naipagawa.”
Mas kumulo ang dugo ko sa loyalistang ito kaysa sa mga kasalukuyang magnanakaw sa gobyerno.
Kung pwede lang sabihin, “Marcos?! Marcos?! Gusto mong maging immortal si Marcos?! Naiintindihan mo ba ang sinasabi mo? Kung nandito pa si Marcos, malamang ay hindi ka nakakapag-Candy Crush!” Ngunit siyempre, kailangang irespeto ang mga Senior Citizen, lalo’t kung siya’y biyenan mo.
August 27th, 2013 at 13:41
Jessica — Napakasaklap at karimarimarim!!! Hmp!!!
Ang upa nung pari sa bahay ng mga Napoles sa Forbes ay tumatagingting na P280,000.00 kada buwan! Sinverguenza!!!
August 27th, 2013 at 13:42
chronicler — Nabalitaan kong nadukutan ka daw kahapon sa Luneta? Kamusta naman? Hindi naman nila nalimas ang limpak limpak mong datung?
August 27th, 2013 at 17:53
Strangely enough, the more one travels, the more one gets attached to the Philippines – True
I find myself humming the Hotdog song “Manila, Manila, I keep coming back to Manila” when on the plane back home from my travels.
August 28th, 2013 at 08:20
(This is a digression as well.)
silentfollower: I know EXACTLY what you’re going through. My significant other’s family (and their in-laws as well) are pure Northeners, and as such, they think the Marcos administration is the Golden Era of Philippine History.
I, on the other hand, grew up with a mom who attended the Edsa Revolution and carried me along with her.
It blows my mind every time my S.O.’s family says something like what yours does. I just shut up, feeling like I’m taking crazy pills.
August 28th, 2013 at 13:50
after doing it for years, napoles probably thought she was already a vital part of the ‘system,’ and that she had to expand and become a conglomerate–JLN group of companies. amazing.
pero sa pinas pa rin tayo. may mga iskandalo rin naman sa ibang bansa, mas matititindi pa ang iba. pasalamat pa nga’t kahit papano’y malaya ang pamamahayag todits. (magbukas ka ng op-ed page ng pahayagan sa singapore… kung hindi problema sa malaysia ang pinag-aaksayahan ng papel at tinta, tungkol sa maliit na banggaan sa session road ang komentaryo.
at mas magaganda pa ang mga filipina dine.
August 28th, 2013 at 20:55
Every day for these past few weeks, I’m always reminded of Animal Farm’s ending because of this pork barrel issue. Then I realized, it’s an unfair comparison. Unfair on the part of the pigs. These slimy politicians are a species of their own.
August 29th, 2013 at 11:11
japz20: Tama ka, ang turing nila sa Marcos Era ay Golden Era.
Hindi ko maintindihan kung bakit ang mga loyalista ay loyalista at kung paano nila nagagawang patuloy na maging loyalista gayong may konsepto naman tayo ng tama at mali.
Sabi ng aking kabiyak (na hindi loyalista), “Kaya nga loyalista. Blind followers.”
“So parang kulto?”
“Kahit wala nang parang. Kulto talaga.”
August 29th, 2013 at 21:24
Napoles’ lawyers said, “My client didnt get any special treatment. She never lived a lavish lifestyle”.
Never lived a lavish lifestyle?!
Lavish akong nalulungkot at nagagalit sa mga balita at pangyayari. Gusto ko silang lavish na saktan! Hahahahaha!!!
September 5th, 2013 at 03:10
I’ve lived abroad for about 12 years now, these last four years in the UK. I really don’t know the Philippines anymore. I know I love it because my family is there and it’s where I grew up and so I have tons of fond memories of our country. Everytime I go home though it makes me so sad to see so many people struggling. Not that there isn’t poverty and corruption here in the UK(It is actually getting worse and I live in Cambridge which is a very nice university town).
And also the English are quite bad showing their love and pride for their country. 9 out of 10 English person will not know their national anthem. They don’t even know when St George’s Day is, even school children. It is not a done thing here to fly the British Flag except for when it is the Queen’s birthday or if there is a football match.
I suppose corruption is everywhere but it seems ingrained in Filipino culture. Maybe in the next couple of generations with the help of education we can phase it out. I hope so.