BY: DONALD SEVILLA
A GANG OF THIEVES
Overall, our country has slid down the ranking of those perceived to be less corrupt, a feat not to be proud of, but which reflects the dire state of our nation rocked by the flood control mess.
While this issue is just the tip of the iceberg that opened a can of worms which threatened our democratic institutions, it highlights the quandary of a nation trying to find itself.
We personified the allure of the Orient in the charm of our culture and our rich natural resources. We are not poor but blessed, endowed by God’s grace.
But what happened? We grew complacent and rested on our laurels that many others overtook us.
While we took pride in our democracy and our heritage, politics took its toll, exacting blood from our people’s coffers.
Sadly many billions lost over time to corruption and waste, could have propelled our nation to first world status.
We may have achieved “progress” and modernized ourselves but we could have done more. Our messy politics stood in the way.
Yet too many cooks spoiled the broth. We have many officials elected into office that are non-performing, wasting billions in taxpayers’ money for their salaries and other perks.
The bureaucracy is laden with too many employees performing redundant functions. When we could have streamlined and cut down on costs, we accomodated more to address political debt.
We can go on and on but we need to face our problems head-on. What has become of us?
We are proud to be the biggest Christian nation hereabouts but we lost our values to corruption and largesse, in contrast to our Catholic upbringing.
Our greed has numbed our conscience and with each new discovery of an anomaly uncovered, we are debasing ourselves.
We have become what we feared we would be and the opposite of what once, our Christian values stood for.
Unfortunately, those whom we entrusted to lead us have come together like a band of thieves. Except for a well-meaning and sincere few, most are not spared from the scourge.
The corruption has spread deep into our institutions that we now find it difficult to exact justice from the perpetrators.
Can we ultimately recover from this flood control mess and regain our moral compass? How much more do we need to suffer before we break free from corruption’s bondage?