In the Waray-Waray tongue, we say “timbang-timbang han presyo ngan gasto”—we weigh the cost and the price. But what of the cost of corruption? It is not just in pesos lost, but in dignity denied. The Filipino, resilient as he is, learns to make do. He learns to smile through broken systems. But should resilience be a requirement for survival?
There is a road in every Filipino town that never gets fixed. A dike that never got fixed. A bridge that remains half-built. A classroom with no chairs, no chalk, no teacher. These are not mere accidents of governance—they are symptoms of a deeper malaise. Corruption, that silent thief, does not always wear a mask or wield a gun. Sometimes, it wears a barong, smiles in campaign posters, and speaks of “public service” while pocketing the future of the people.
We often think of corruption as a distant, abstract evil—something that happens in Manila, in air-conditioned offices, in the halls of Congress. But corruption is not just a political issue. It is a moral wound.
The people who toiled fairly, consistently are never getting get paid accordingly. They never get promoted nor do they won searches for the best fit of a very important job. The best, the brightest will be defeated by the nearest to the real source of power.
As the flood hits Quezon City last night and Low Pressure Area threatens Virac today, we can expect destruction and despair. We can expect problems again, while the politicians dole out food packs, they will get their picture emblazoned on social media, righteous and sacrificing. They are actually distributing pre-positioned government goods or maybe, profits from the business derived from the commissions they have got.
For good natured, law abiding citizens, these are simply sad because the systemic robbery, robs them of hope. They rob them of fair chances and break the universal law of good begets good life, it now became corruption begets good life. It leads them to question whether God is watching or punishing. Is it that the slow path to redemption makes the sight of the same a model for backsliding the good to be bad because the bad wins?
In all, corruption is a moral wound, It hurts the economy, it hurts the merit selection, it taxes the soul. Sadly, the road to redemption is obviously long ahead. But Indonesia is making double strides and we are doing baby steps towards a better society. We are seeing how Indonesia are attacking corrupt officials we are witnessing the shaming of the people involved in the scheme and it is a good sign.
All said, we must express our disgust and anger to a system that hurt the present and the future. We pray for the healing of the moral wound that can became abscessed, deep and cancerous if we do nothing.
