It certainly is too bad that they haven’t caught the perpetrators of the almost successful
assassination attempt on Batangas governor Sanchez by way of car bomb that smashed his luxury
Hummer all-road utility vehicle and killed two of his men (driver and bodyguard) this past summer
of 2006. Indeed, the unfortunate event is but one of so many consummated killings and attempted
killings both within and without election seasons.
Ask the average Filipino and normally, several usual suspects easily come up. Maybe it’s the
envious vice-governor hungry for the position and not wanting to wait for the next election. Maybe
it’s the rival congressman, who disagreed on many issues. Maybe it’s some major
contractor or business entity who lost a contract earlier promised. Maybe it’s a member of
some radical socio-political group disillusioned with how things are run by the provincial
government. Maybe he. Maybe she. Maybe you. Maybe me.
But while no one has been arrested and
convicted for such an attempt, no one doubts that it could all be related to one of only two
things.
First is money. Enough said.
What can never be said enough, however, is the craving or lust for such money, even at the expense
of other people’s lives. Now given all the evil of this world as exemplified by all the
kidnappings, murders, robberies, scams, fraud and petty thefts in every part of the world, what’s
the big deal?
Also enough said.
The big deal is that we are talking of people
“elected” into government positions of public service. We are not talking of bands of
raving mad gun-swinging wild barbaric hoodlums. We are talking of clean-looking, widely smiling
people with popular names, tailored suits, shiny polo ‘barong tagalogs’, expensively
trimmed haircuts, beautiful homes and cars, and huge bank accounts – both secret and not,
both ill-gotten and not – and who often are even admired for their status, accomplishments,
influence and power.
So if our society correlates a position of authority, responsibility, service
and accountability to, for and on behalf of the public with realities of
power, pride, money, and greed, what does that make all of us who comprise
that society? |
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What if we are not so cowardly that anytime a public official seeks to embezzle a
person will bravely file a complaint, a prosecutor will bravely accept the complaint,
an arresting police officer will bravely apprehend the public official suspect,
and a judge will bravely pass the right verdict.
Now read the paragraph above and replace the word
“cowardly” with ‘dishonest’ and replace the word “bravely” with
the word ‘righteously’. What would happen?
It really won’t matter. The word patterns shall fit any pair of opposite qualities with the
positive words descriptive of practically anything and everything our culture still lacks.
What if we are not so culturally mischievous that the public official who solicits a proposal for a
road project does not ask for a bribe, and the winning road contractor does not provide poor quality
material so as to increase profits at the expense of his contractual obligation, and the road
inspector does not falsify his report so as to show the road quality for what it really is, and the
treasurer’s office similarly does not ask for a bribe prior to facilitating the release of the funds
to pay the contractor?
How about other aspects or examples of public service? Well, it really doesn’t matter, does it?
Change the illustration, but the script and moral lesson remain the very same.
We may not have pulled the trigger or pressed the remote control attached to the car bomb.
But we live our lives harboring such a culture allowing for what’s contained in most of
this article to exist.
Are we not as guilty too? Yes we are.
As charged.
Little Ant
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