𝗦𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗱 𝗢𝗽𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗯𝘆 𝗔𝗿𝘃𝗶𝗻 𝗙𝗲𝗿𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗠. 𝗖𝗮𝗯𝗮𝗹𝘂
CORRUPTION in the Philippines is deeply entrenched as widespread issue affecting all fronts of government levels and sectors are characterized by bribery, kickbacks and corruption that leads to massive economic losses coupled with poor public service.
Corruption in this country is being done with impunity fueled by unscrupulous politicians and weak anti-corruption bodies despite gargantuan efforts of some social watchdogs.
Recent scandals such as the Department of Public Works and Highway’s ghost and sub-standard projects highlight how corruption steal huge amount of money meant for essential services, directly harming citizens in need of protection from elements.
DPWH officials such as former Secretary Manuel Bonoan, former USec. Roberto Bernardo, Henry Alcantara, Brice Ericson Hernandez, JayPee Mendoza are at the forefront of the trillion-peso scam…contractors Curlee and Sarah Discaya (Alpha and Omega Gen. Contractor & Development Corp., St. Gerrard Construction and Development Corp., St. Timothy Construction Corp., St. Matthew General Contractor and Development Corp., Elite General Contractor and Development Corp., Amethyst Horizon Builders and General Contractor, and Development Corp., YPR General Contractor and Construction Supply Inc., Great Pacific Builders and General Contractor Inc. and Way Maker One Person Corp.), Mark Allan Arevalo (Wowow Builders), to name just a few, are likewise major players in the corruption scandal.
But how did these people able to pocket trillions from the coffers of the Philippine government? Their bravado and courage in showing their ill-gotten wealth over social media and to everybody else is mind-boggling.
We have seen and heard via the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee that politicians and high-ranking government officials are allegedly involved in the corruption mess. The DPWH people and some contractors are pointing to several senators, congressmen, undersecretaries and so too are some of the involved contractors.
Allegation that these politicians and government officials are receiving kick-backs, so called parking fees, percentages from projects, involved in fund insertions, allocables, etc. have surfaced all because of their power—power that was given to them in a silver platter by no less than all of us.
In 2016, Senators Jinggoy Estrada, Joel Villanueva, former Senator Bong Revilla and several other congressmen were implicated in the Janet Lim Napoles’ “PDAF scam” resulting into their incarceration.
In 2019, Revilla was reelected as senator while Villanueva and Estrada won in 2022. Most of the representatives in congress also won again despite the corruption controversies they faced.
Alcantara, Hernandez, Mendoza, Bonoan, Bernardo, the late DPWH Usec. Cathy Cabral and several other contractors have randomly named Estrada, Villanueva, Revilla, former Senators Nancy Binay (now Makati Mayor), Sonny Angara (now DepEd Secretary), Grace Poe, Cynthia Villar, Senators Chiz Escudero, Bong Go, Mark Villar, Co, and some notable Congressmen and high government officials in Romualdez, Eric Yap, Edvic Yap, Sandro Marcos, Edwin Gardiola, Jernie Nisay, Tina Pancho, Francisco Matugas, Mich Cajayon-Uy, Roman Romulo, Arjo Atayde, Marcy Teodoro, Dean Asistio, former Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin, SAP Antonio Lagdameo, former Budget Secretary ASmenah Pangandaman, Usec. Adrian Bersamin, Usec. Jojo Cadiz, Special Envoy Maynard Ngu, Usec. Trygve Olaibar, and COA’s Mario Lipana to have benefitted from the corruption scheme.
As voters of this country, we could have prevented these corruption schemes a long time ago if we only voted accordingly and have not accepted bribes to vote for these nefarious personalities.
As Commission on Election Chairman George Erwin Garcia said, “We should not elect leaders based on social media, television, radio and newspapers. We should use our heart and our conscience in voting…your vote should be based on your study of who rightfully deserves to be officials.”
In 2025, we have seen the election defeat of Revilla, former Senator and boxing icon Manny Pacquiao, celebrities Willie Revillame, Philip Salvador, self-proclaimed appointed son of God Apollo Quiboloy…I hope that in 2028, Filipino voters will continue to improve in their choices of people who deserve to be in the senate and congress, in the provincial capitol, and in the city or municipal halls.
Oh, by the way, we have our chance to prove our continuing election maturity earlier than the 2028 synchronized election as the Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Election will commence this November.
Let us choose those who have a genuine heart to serve and do away with the corrupt ones so that Filipino voters will not be blamed for the sad state of our country.
