By Jan Vicente B. Pekas
This happened in the Cordillera. A big contractor built a building for public welfare financed by the Japanese International Cooperation Agency (JICA). After it was finished, it was time to submit accounting of how the funds for it was spent. Definitely, the Japanese people who were here to oversee the project had to render an accounting to make sure the Japanese money donated was spent properly.
For tax purposes. The Filipino contractor who built the building must also render an accounting. These two must jibe together. Otherwise, it could only mean somebody cheated or filched some of the funds.
Expectedly, the accountant of the Cordilleran contractor, as instructed by his boss, “doctored” the account books to save on tax payments. So the accountant was tasked to go and explain to the leader of the Japanese team the elaborate accounting subterfuge to accomplish this. These were patiently explained to the Japanese team leader who was shocked. He said, “Do you mean to say your boss contractor will go to all that trouble to steal from “HIS OWN” government?
Naturally, the Japanese did not agree. With full proprietary sense, he wanted to show the whole world how the money of the people of Japan was spent.
The attitudes involved here were diametrically opposed to each other. The Japanese wanted to protect the money of the Japanese government which he also considers as his own. While the Cordilleran contractor wanted to steal a big chunk of the money. For him it was not his money so it was fair game to steal a big part of it.
It was a big taboo and “nakakahiya” for a Japanese to cheat his own government. On the other hand, it was a “normal” for a Filipino to steal as much as he could from his “OWN GOVERNMENT.” One who does it would even be considered an “idol”. The bigger the haul, the more venerated he is.
For us Filipinos, there is no sense of ownership of our government. It is not ours. It is theirs—the powers- that-be which include the economic elite and the other leaders of society. They are a bunch of cheats stealing from us, the people, whenever they can. And that is all the time or most of the time.
If there is going to be a change in this country, it should start from the top. So many pinned their hopes on former President Duterte. But then the Pharmally caper surfaced and after an exhaustive investigation, he was recommended by the Senate to be charged with economic plunder along with other conspirators.
So many also entertained some hope on the late President Marcos after seeing the good improvements evidenced by the first days of Martial Law. After sometime though, things showed nothing was new. Everybody was back into their corrupt ways which naturally resulted in inefficiency and incompetence in governance.
But then something evolved which can be the solution. People Power. That can be the hope if we the people can reform ourselves. It would, however, be another long story.**
