Is development at hand amid graft, corruption, and political crisis?

The social cancer of corruption in the Philippines has become a subculture that has been passed down through generations. Tracing its origin, it is a colonial influence by the West that eventually became part of the Filipino way of life.

The Philippines remains poor because of the prevalence of graft and corruption. What is even more annoying is that there are many in the government whom the public trusts who have bluntly engaged in graft and corruption and robbed the nation’s wealth without remorse. The flood control project anomalies are obvious displays of those who make a fool of the public—it is a betrayal of public trust. As the investigation continues, expect that there will be more names identified as being involved because it seems that behind this anomaly is a gang.

The public is now informed but perhaps in a state of madness, because this act is unacceptable. Imagine a taxpayer who pays his or her tax dues religiously, and is sanctioned for not paying them, yet is being robbed by a few ill-motivated opportunists in public service. Filipinos have been fed up with so many petty corrupt practices for the longest time; it has now reached the point where Filipinos demand justice.

Moreover, all these events happening now are a manifestation of regression. Scholars say that development is a process of improving the lives of the people, through the reduction if not eradication of poverty, illiteracy, and unemployment. This process takes time and involves noneconomic and nonquantifiable factors such as peace, equality, justice, and good governance. Growth is the result of the development process—quantifiable in nature for example through gross domestic product and gross national product. In order to reach the state of development, both economic and noneconomic factors should be attained.

Personally, development is a state where one lives with security, peace, and abundance and one tends to live a life that he or she desires. Development is at hand when one enjoys the fundamental needs of security and safety, including a responsive police and emergency services network and well-lit public streets that deter crime and enable a quick response to crises.

It also includes health and well-being, such as subsidized insurance that guarantees access to necessary medical care; an affordable cost of living, that ensures full-time workers can afford housing, food, and other necessities; and economic security, including equitable opportunities that ensure people with disabilities can access and participate in public life and employment. It also includes civic participation, such as laws that allow citizens to request and receive documents from government agencies, thereby promoting transparency, public oversight, and accountability.

To live a life in a state of development is everybody’s dream. To reach this level, there must be a balance between economic considerations (such as stronger investment and equitable distribution) that support and maintain the noneconomic considerations, such as justice, social inclusion, and environmental health, which collectively determine human liberty and well-being. Achieving this state requires a holistic and sustained commitment from all sectors of society: the government, civil society, the private sector, and individual citizens. Given this sociopolitical condition of Filipinos, development is far beyond reach, at least for now. There have been several attempts to realize development, but they have all failed because Filipinos do not yet have the values vital for development. Hopefully, once the political crisis and graft and corruption issues are resolved, development will be at hand.

Eric DS. Ebro,
[email protected]

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