In
many ways, it is Corruption that is at the core of the Nation’s downfall or
success, and at least, at the core of the views and the public opinion of
foreign countries on the Filipinos. 99 percent of the Filipino citizens put the
crime of Corruption in their top 5 priorities…and one in three say the issue of
corrupt public officials is their number one concern. That’s because for us,
the crime of corruption by public officials is a hurt we feel each day. Nearly
80 percent out of 110 million of our population are marginalized poor suffering
from poverty. Look at the people sitting on either side of you. Imagine one was
a marginalized poor, no food, no home, no job– forced to live on razor’s edge
(kapit sa patalim). They are alive… but being alive is not the same as
surviving.
We
have to be concerned with Corruption, which is now widespread across the
country because we’re living with its consequences. We don’t have the luxury of
shifting our focus away. Otherwise, the more corrupt public officials gain leverage,
they can exploit… and the greater the risk of instability we're going to
encounter. That’s why we decry Pres. Marcos’s action in shifting away his focus
from corruption. So, we, the Filipinos, must denounce the declaration of our
Pres. Marcos for displaying blatant disregard to his Constitutional duties and
obligations TO PROTECT AND SERVE THE COUNTRY AND ITS CITIZENS re: his
revelation that he will just leave the issue of Corruption “just as it is,”
which in tagalog, “Pabayaan nalang natin yan.” For this, his shameless
persistence in a stern manner based on his ambiguous notion which he failed to
elaborate further, is a gratuitous humiliation to himself and a testament to
the true tone of his adamant stand to neglectfully solve corruption in government.
This created a cloud of confusion and distrust upon him among the citizenry as
to his capability, effectiveness, competence, and respectable presence as a
President.
I
respectfully challenge the logic and legitimacy of Mr. Marcos in declining to
resolve the issue of Corruption. Moreso, the Filipinos strictly mean business
and the President’s minute of fame were numbered and we have plenty of time to
do it. It is worthy to stress, that any public official who displays such
reckless neglect for Constitutional rights should have their authority
questioned. Setting aside Pres. Marcos’s unprofessional remarks, much of his
conduct could likely be considered unconstitutional. Indeed, Mr. Marcos
demonstrated his ignorance of his rights and obligations as the President that
would have a lasting effect that resonates throughout the entire country. In
this case, Pres. Marcos’s conduct is unnecessary; likely illegal, and only
served to create conflict. Pres. Marcos sealed his own fate via the Court of
public opinion. Clearly, it is incomprehensible that Pres. Marcos, while
acknowledging the proliferation of Corruption in the government but instead of obligating himself to resolve the same, he chose to ignore it.
Thus,
the Filipinos are impatient when it comes to Corruption because time has not
been a friend. Distraughtly though, the crime of Corruption in our government,
which is our existential foe, seems like our leaders used to describe it as
intractable, even insoluble. But for the many Filipinos, it is clear from the
sequence of life that these Presidents that have gone and come, they are all
indifferent to care about the issue of Corruption because they are also
allegedly into Corruption.
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