Demo-crazy Philippines

That’s how most Filipinos enjoy the fanfare these days.

Why not? With all these uncalled rallies brought about by the mushrooming effects of graft and corruption in government, which to many people, was more than what occurred during the dictatorship of the late President Ferdinand Marcos in the late 70s.

Rather than enjoying the fruits of their freedom earned after the late dictator was finally ousted through the bloodless People Power Revolution, they are feasting in the midst of DEMO-CRAZY Philippines nowadays. And mind you, if you’re holding sensitive positions in government, it could be very dangerous in the sense that you could be used and abused by the gods and godesses at the top.

But why worry about it, just in case something like this comes your way? You don’t have to do anything but to stick to your gun. If you can’t dance with the music, better decide to quit, rather than be taken advantaged of by those in power for their personal interests. Unless, you want to get a share of the pie, then you have no choice but to lick their butts.

However, you must always be ready to face the consequences as what other former government officials experienced these past couple of weeks.

This is the gambit. If you’re holding a nice position in government, especially those that have something to do with the collection of taxes or issuing of business permits and licenses, finding the color of money is no problem at all. Perhaps, this is the primordial reason why the Bureau of Internal Revenue, the Bureau of Customs, the Land Transportation Office, the Registry of Deeds and other government agencies hate the idea of having their offices undergo the full computerization program. Because if they do, some of the corrupt government officials and employees wouldn’t be able to succeed in their sinister plans to further defraud the government’s coffer.

Let me pose this question, anyway. Why do some people indulge themselves in graft and corrupt practices? Either they wanted to sustain the whims and caprices of their luxurious lifestyles or they just wanted to amass so much wealth for future use. Mind you, this is a cycle that has been going on for hundreds of years, since the country was occupied by foreign powers. From my Philippine history subject, I had learned that most of the old folks then were known for their traits of being simple, respectful, honest and courteous in dealing with others. Over the decades, however, these traits had waned because of the influences brought about by what they saw from the foreign colonizers.

For instance, the incidence of landgrabbing and giving of grease money to those in sensitive government positions did not occur overnight. The influences may have been passed through generations so that the grandchildren of those who were exposed to this kind of shenanigans no doubt inherited these illegal practices, if only to make an edge over the others in a short period of time. But why do some people grab lands or steal huge sums of money from others? The answer may not be perfectly correct, but the way I understand it, the ulterior motive behind is to gain power and glory in the end.

Do you think those who have vast tracts of land nowadays just sat in the sideline and waited for whoever would shower them these blessings? Nope. They were either big time administrators of land during the Spanish time, up to the American liberation period and their exposure to this kind of lifestyle may have encouraged some of them to carry on and stick to their old practices up to this day.

A good example is my late father’s hometown in Region V. How come there are people in the area who only own a few square meters of land, while others could no longer remember how many hectares of land they have. And do you think the formation of haciendas in the country just cropped up without any group of people responsible on how they came to be in the olden days?

From then on, until now, the obssession of accummulating vast properties and wealth have always been pointed to as the main cause why some influential and those in power grab more lands and accummulate more wealth at the expense of the poor. Just think about it and you’ll find the answers.