A National Betrayal: How Corruption Robs the Filipino People
An honest day's pay for an honest day's work. It's a simple principle, but for a Filipino taxpayer, it feels like a punch in the gut when you see the money you work so hard for being siphoned off. We endure traffic, rising prices, and the constant threat of typhoons, yet the very projects meant to help us seem to be part of the problem.
A Legacy of Rot and Rackets
This isn't just about one or two bad apples. The current flood control scandal, implicating the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), is a symptom of a deeper, more sinister illness. It's a "white collar crime" that has been festering for decades, an organised criminal enterprise that operates in plain sight. We’re talking about a syndicate of contractors, high-ranking government officials, and politicians who have turned public works into a personal ATM.
The numbers are staggering. In recent years, billions of pesos have been allocated for flood control, yet floods still devastate our communities. Why? Because a significant portion of the funds never makes it to the actual projects. Reports suggest that as little as 30% of the money allocated for a project translates into actual construction. The rest? It's divided up, with politicians allegedly taking the largest cut—as much as 30%—followed by corrupt DPWH officials, auditors from the Commission on Audit (COA), and even the contractors themselves. The corruption is so systemic that it's been described as a "standard operating procedure."
The Human Cost of Corruption
Corruption isn't a victimless crime. It's a direct threat to our safety and a cause of poverty. When funds for flood control are stolen, the dikes crack, drainage systems fail, and our homes get submerged. The Department of Finance estimates that the economy lost as much as P118.5 billion in the last two years due to this corruption. That's money that could have created up to 210,000 jobs for our fellow Filipinos.
While we're out there trying to make ends meet, the children of these contractors are flaunting their lavish lifestyles online. We see them with their luxury cars, expensive bags, and international trips, all paid for with our taxes. It's an obscene display of wealth built on our misery. Their "rags to riches" stories are a slap in the face to every honest Filipino who plays by the rules.
This isn't just a failure of bureaucracy; it's a betrayal of public trust. Our government is supposed to serve the people, not enrich a select few. The corruption in the DPWH is a perfect example of how deeply entrenched this problem is. It's a cycle of impunity that has gone on for far too long, where those who steal from the people are rarely held accountable.
As a middle-class professional, this is not just frustrating—it is a personal assault. Every peso I earn, every tax form I fill out, feels like I'm contributing to a system designed to fail me. It's a system where my hard work funds the luxurious vacations and extravagant lifestyles of a privileged few, while the rest of us are left to clean up after their greed. They call it public service, but it's nothing short of a criminal enterprise. We are not just paying taxes; we are paying for our own neglect, and we can no longer afford to stay silent. The cost is simply too high.