Bribes and Corruption
With the way they throw hundreds of millions of bribe money away, it's as if the Filipino people are living in luxury and the economy is overflowing with wealth and capital. With the way they bribe people, it's as if it is a very normal thing to do for presidents, as Environment Sec. Lito Atienza claims, and that all government officials, whether in the executive or legislative branches, have no scruples about accepting bribes.
BY BENJIE OLIVEROS
ANALYSIS
Bulatlat
Vol. VII, No. 37, October 21-27, 2007

The exposé by Gov. Eddie Panlilio of Pampanga that he was given P500,000 ($11,276 at an exchange rate of $1=44.34) in a meeting in Malacanang last Thursday October 11, under mysterious circumstances, is the latest in a series of scandals confronting the Macapagal-Arroyo administration. The distribution of money at Malacanang - which definitely reeks of bribery no matter where the money was sourced - was confirmed by three other governors including Bulacan Gov. Jonjon Mendoza, and two congressmen namely, Cebu City Rep. Antonio Cuenco and recently, Rep. Bienvenido Abante of Manila.
The bribery which is estimated to amount to P95 million ($2,142,534) for congressmen and P24 million ($541,271) for governors is scandalous enough. But it is more detestable as it came in the heels of another bribery attempt on congressmen, which was exposed by Anakpawis (Toiling Masses) Rep. Crispin Beltran, to the tune of P2 million ($45,105) worth of projects in exchange for endorsing a weak impeachment complaint filed by Ruel Pulido. Francis Ver, a high level official of Kampi, Arroyo's political party, was blamed for the bribery attempt.
This, in turn, came right after the expose' and Senate investigation on the overpriced National Broadband Network (NBN) deal with ZTE of China where resigned Comelec Chair Benjamin "the Broker" Abalos Sr. offered a P200 million ($4,510,599) bribe to former National Economic Development Authority Director General Romulo Neri to approve the deal and $10 million to Jose De Venecia III to withdraw his bid. Before the Senate investigation was abruptly postponed by Blue Ribbon Committee Chair Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano, Abalos "the Broker" resigned from Comelec, taking the fall in the hope that the simmering issue would cool down and before the scandal reaches the doorsteps of Malacanang.
With the way they throw hundreds of millions of bribe money away, it's as if the Filipino people are living in luxury and the economy is overflowing with wealth and capital. It's as if overall hunger did not increase by 10 points affecting 3.8 million families in September and the Filipino people are not being burdened by taxes and high prices. It's as if the poor have a lot of opportunities for gainful employment and they are not struggling against demolition crews or toiling abroad at the risk of slavery and death.
With the way they bribe people, it's as if it is a very normal thing to do for presidents, as Environment Sec. Lito Atienza claims, and that all government officials, whether in the executive or legislative branches, have no scruples about accepting bribes.
Government officials giving away bribes may not be a normal thing in this poor country but corruption is. Former presidents Corazon Aquino, Fidel V. Ramos, and Joseph Estrada may be right in claiming that they did not bribe their local officials and Lower House representatives. But they are not immune from charges of corruption. Aquino's kin were suspected of cornering sequestered assets of Marcos and his cronies and she was able to use her position to circumvent the agrarian reform law; Ramos is not yet cleared of accusations that he gained from the construction for the APEC summit in Subic and the grossly disadvantageous Independent Power Producer contracts and IMPSA deal; Estrada, well, he was convicted of plunder.
While not many government officials are caught at the giving end of corruption deals, many are suspected of being at the receiving end. Government positions are being viewed as a means to expand wealth. Otherwise, why in the name of hell do candidates - who are mostly coming from wealthy families or are being sponsored by one - for elected positions from the city or municipality up to the presidency buy, votes, lie, cheat, steal, and kill just to win? Their monthly salaries are merely within the range of tens of thousands of pesos and yet they are willing to spend millions for the campaign and in buying votes. The answer is obvious, they are expecting more during pay back time.
The fact that corruption is systemic does not exempt Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo from culpability. In fact, Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo is worse because she and her husband Jose Miguel Arroyo are enmeshed in scandals where they are either in the receiving end as in the Macapagal Boulevard, Jose Pidal accounts, and NBN contract and at the giving end as in the fertilizer scam, PhilHealth cards, and now the two bribery scandals. Perhaps this is what they call "executive privilege." The Catholic bishops, on the other hand, call this "moral bankruptcy."
There is another term for it "desperation." The fertilizer scam and PhilHealth cards were meant to make Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo "win" during the 2004 presidential elections. But it still needed a "push" from the infamous former commissioner of Comelec Virgilio Garcillano. The two bribery scandals are meant to keep her in power in the face of the corruption-ridden NBN deal.
If the Filipino people would let the Macapagal-Arroyo administration get away with the NBN scam and the two bribery scandals, we could expect more to come in a spiraling cycle of corruption and bribery - more and bigger corruption scams as part of their anticipated pay back and more and bigger bribes to cover up. The worse part is, it is the Filipino people who pay for all these scams and bribes in terms of progressively increasing taxes, decreasing government services, and substandard, overpriced infrastructures.
The Filipino people already achieved a victory of sorts with the ouster of the Marcos dictatorship. It made succeeding administrations more defensive and vulnerable when suppressing civil liberties and human rights. We also achieved a victory of sorts with the ouster and conviction of Joseph Estrada. It opened up the possibility of convicting succeeding corrupt presidents. More importantly, these events sensitized the people to corruption scandals and to attempts at suppressing civil liberties and human rights.
The Macapagal-Arroyo administration is now trying to take all these away by its impunity in committing human rights violations, corruption and bribery.
But it cannot take away the biggest gain of the Filipino people in both people powers: the realization that we can effect changes through political action. Let us not stop now. Let us continue working for genuine freedom, justice, and democracy in a progressive spiral of political action.