Politics?

Whew! It's getting hot here in the Philippines! Not just because of the weather but also the numerous ads that the politicians, mostly those running for President, here are airing on TV. All of them, showing off how good they are.

Today, as a real estate sales associate, I spent my whole day in one of our subdivisions here in Cavite. Everything went smoothly, I got a client, even three of my colleagues got theirs. I'm happy for the turnout of this day's work, but more importantly the conversation I had with my new friend and recruit-a newly hired government secretary.

At first, we had a conversation --well, he was the one talking, I'm listening and butt in at some points-- he was telling me how bad the situation in his office has been. Particularly, the insubordination of some officials, under the Captain, in the barangay- the smallest administrative division in the Philippines.

He said that most of the officials would do everything just to make the Captain look bad to the people in the barangay. For example, they will do projects for the people but at the same time bad mouth the Captain to the people or when he has a project, the officials will deliberately not attend. My friend told me that he himself is defending the Captain during meetings.

In the course of his very long talk, I learned about how the system in the barangay works. There were a lot of ridiculous suggestions from the subordinates, like photocopying Barangay Clearances so that they could release it on their own and of course, earn money. But there's another one that sounded familiar-ghost project. Although both were not approved by the Captain, which is a good decision, it's very alarming to know that officials would actually do such things. Not that I don't know anything about the corruption in this country, but still.

As we got deeper into the conversation --this was when I actually talked-- we discussed a scenario about a driver being caught by a traffic enforcer. Here in the Philippines, it is quite common to see a driver giving money to an enforcer, so just that he won't get the full penalty of the violation. This was when the discussion heated up. I already knew that for him, my friend, it's alright for the driver to just give a bribe, instead of ending up paying a bigger fine or even being put to jail. His reason was it may be the only income that the driver has and that he may be the bread winner. Getting a big fine or being put to jail could end up making the driver's family go hungry. My friend also added that if this would happen, the family left by the driver might do something like stealing. It was from a previous discussion on a bus. He also told me that it is alright for the enforcers to take bribe or even get money from drivers. For him it was another way to get a little income because enforcers get a very low salary.

Everything he said was quite true about the possibility of a family going bad and for the enforcer to get some extra cash because of the need, but he missed the point. Although, my friend's intentions were good for the driver and the enforcer, it's just wrong."What's the use of the law?" That's what I asked him. We came to a point that the scenario intensified, I asked him: "If the driver killed a person because of reckless driving, would a bribe suffice?" He told me that it was different because someone got killed and the driver should be punished accordingly. Then I asked him about the driver's family, "They will also be left on their own, right?" He agreed but told me that people with position or money would just give something to the officials so that they will just walk away like nothing happened. I wasn't sure what happened but my friend was put on a halt. Probably, he remembered the scenario, when the driver gave a bribe to the enforcer, and thought, "What's the difference?" Then I told him that the corrupt practices, of even the lowest division in the government, made the Philippines what it is today. This is the reason why we are still a developing country when in fact, we should have been a developed one, years ago.

Well, I guess I made my point. Nope, not yet. After the long conversation we rested for a while. He broke the ice and asked me where I took up college. So I told him that I studied in the University of the Philippines. He was amazed and told me that he has high respect for people from that university. I told him that he should not be. A pastor once, preached in one of the auditorium in the university. He stated that out of 100% of students that graduate from college, only 10% gets a job in high positions. And out of the 10%, 90% are from UP. The crowd cheered wildly with egocentric joy. The pastor waved his hand to stop the cheer. He also reminded the UP crowd that most of them are corrupt. A statement that stabbed us right through the heart. He was right. This, I told my friend.

There is still hope for the Philippines. We don't need people who are smart, though it's a plus; or someone with experience but do corrupt practices. We just need people who are willing to stand up for what is right. A person who's only focus is to help, will easily see right through those who will do things that will only make the people suffer.