The moral pain has been there in our neck of the woods for a long, long time, says the new kid in the public works agency. In fact, you have to go back easily in the decades of a marinating corruption in the agency, Secretary Vince Dizon said, unequivocally and courageously. His earlier encomium as Pampanga’s man of the year by this paper was prophetic.
Offhand , he was as angry and unforgiving in his call to whittle down his new department to size. The symptoms of the pain did not come as a surprise from the blue though.
That’s quite incredible from a Cabinet member who has just recently emerged from the woodwork to make a realistic assessment that was already probably evident during the time of a dictator son’s boyhood, his principal.
A long time ago, Spain’s philosopher GeorgeSantayana warned that if one doesn’t remember the past, his generation will repeat it. In our time, people are miserably reaping what earlier leaders had failed to stop, if not sowed the seeds themselves. Edsa 1986, whose official celebration has been deleted this year from its annual commemoration , probably resonates with a sense of justice from among those who take the streets to protest the unmitigated public works crime or evil that has overtaken the land.
Many a legislator had been abusively , derogatorily caricatured as inhabiting the swamps. But it had yet to assume the notoriety now described by Americans as someone who lies under the belly of a crocodile. Being a crocodile is bad enough; to go under its belly shows how low it could sink.
It is this abominable creature , a cold blooded, insatiable beast, if you will, that the President angrily claimed that he has unearthed — thanks to Nature or Heavens a senator of the realm believed it was. Without the series of typhoons that unraveled the corruption due to widespread flooding, it would have taken the President a longer surprise of a man -made disaster.
Sen, Alan Peter Cayetano, who has impressed the people as law expert, veteran lawmaker and confident theologian, is certain it’s due to our culture. It’s a culture of corruption, and it affects everybody from cheating and lying.
It’s a good thing the public reaction hasn’t gone the way of Indonesia and NEPAL where people have opted to take a more drastic, even, violent actions against the perceived perpetrators, mostly politicians.
In light of the deep-seated and massive corruption, culture related or not,the President has created an independent commission on infrastructure (ICI)to flush out the guilty and punish them. It will not be a respecter of persons , it will not spare anyone, friends and allies, even kin where relationship is thicker than water.
The public is not worried about the noble intention, given its opportunity remaining to do a good deed.It’s worried about it’s possible outcome.By definition, a politician is not pure, it looks for possibilities. For this reason, politics is the art of the possible, adding, not subtracting, is its ultimate objective.
The ICI may yet prove that Marcos the Younger is really a true Machiavellian atdistAnt heart. But it could be costly in the long run. Is the President willing to take the political risk it cost the job of a distantant prime minister?
For now, at least, there are three ways the Marcos ICC can be seen.
First off, it can be viewed as a fig leaf solution. The American novelist Saul Bellow said that he has never turned over a fig leaf without a price tag on the other side. The intention may look innocent or cover for something else but ultimately it may have a cost agenda. The President’s job, which has a shelf life of three more years ,may be compromised . The no -prisoner-taken slogan may be the weak point, if not the weakest. .
Or it could be a mirth, a flash of lightning, according to the English poet Joseph Addison,” that breaks through clouds and glitters for the moment and cheerfulness keeps daylight in the mind and creates stability.”
People want a solid hope and real answers , not a p.r. stunt as the corruption issue spawns a growing cynicism and a widening distrust of leaders and officials in time of moral crisis.
Or it’s nothing but a cliché. It’s an overused statement or action whose impact maybe diluted by repetitive action. Note that, along with the ICC, are the current investigations conduced
by the House of Representatives, the Senate blue ribbon committee and the honest-to-goodness house cleansing by the department of public work and highways.
The overlapping probes spooked by partisan motives, even legal technicalities may confuse the public to the real fate of those who broke public trust and flaunt it. At the same time, there are leaders in the corridors of power who seem untouchable despite their egregious political offenses.
In any case ,the people want result – and soon. How the ICC will not combobulate or discombobulate the long-term results of the country’s moral crisis ultimately depends on how the President will make it work.
In fairness to the President, the choices he made in who to appoint to the ICC, especially the chairman has elicited mostly positive feedback. There are some who thought he could have appointed better people in their judgment. One thing is certain, the inclusion of Rogelio “Babes”Singson , former DPWH chief during the Aquino Administration (Pinoy)as ICC member is a sensible one. The downside has been minimal, if not token, in including Baguio City Mayor Benjie Magalong as special advisor. The President needs a miracle and he missed a good one.
As always, there’s a catch: there’s no perfect process in the choice, a timely reminder by Secretary Vince Dizon. Keep your fingers crossed.
