Old MacDonald had a farm, and on the farm corruption sure was everywhere: corruption here, corruption there, corruption in every square meter of the archipelago. The DPWH ghost project issues are constantly on an unstable playing field, while Vice President Sara Duterte’s impeachment cases seemingly faded into obscurity. As we continue this cycle of unpredictable turns and twists, all I—and I’m sure you too—could ever ask for is a more comprehensive system because you would not believe how carelessly public service procedures were actually crafted.
I wonder if acquiring independence for our nation was the right move. It seems like from the time Filipinos gained control of everyone in the country, from the most populated areas to the incredibly isolated islands, Filipinos grew more and more distant from unity. Don’t get me wrong; gradual cuts on the fingers are better than slicing your whole hand, but as these cuts are done one after the other, they just become far more painful and simply delay an inevitable fate. Two major corrupt events might seem controllable, but it really is not modest, considering the minimum is zero.
Why have the ghost project issues not reached a resolution? Countless evidence has been laid out to be challenged, and yet very few have changed about the matter. It worries me that these ghost projects will once again go down in history without the major impact they should have had on our management system.
Granted, mere anonymous interviews or alleged yet obvious connections to these issues are far from what you need to imprison someone or confirm your pointing of fingers, but these clear and important pieces of information must already be studied by the minute. “It’s systemic, if not endemic, and that’s really the problem,” Pasig Mayor Vico Sotto stated regarding these infrastructure schemes. Given that these problems are described as systemic, it means that the system and everyone involved in it are to be criticized.
As youths, these perspectives are generally blocked. Of course, the youth won’t provide any significant impact to the system, right? And for the adults who are constantly challenged by the rapid pace of this world, very little has been done to encourage society from actively involving themselves in these activities.
Recent anonymous interviews conducted by ABS-CBN revealed the witty ways St. Gerrard Construction, one of the firms owned by Sara Discaya, used to deflect the DPWH’s security. They have stated that whenever the DPWH conducted inspections on these projects before, they were tasked to outsmart them by using a fair amount of quality materials during these inspections. It was fairly easy for these firms to get away scot-free, as these DPWH officials were “mainipin” and “hindi magtatagal ng isang oras.”
At the end of my read, I could not help but ask: these officials weren’t doing what I was expecting them to do this whole time? I mean, how hard can it be to search for all of their substandard materials? Why were they described so incompetently in the first place? What does this tell us about other departments? It can truly lead to someone spiraling down into insanity!
And don’t get me started on the current state of VP Sara’s impeachment case. There should at least be a reason why the Supreme Court is pending on the House of Representatives' motion for reconsideration. Otherwise, society would cause a commotion, rightfully so. At school, students are prompted to make quick yet fairly reasonable decisions that strike a balance between coordination and transparency between involved persons, yet as I see it, these activities become obscure in such a prominent area of our nation.
A recent ambush interview with the newly seated Senate President Vicente “Tito” Sotto by the GMA Network stated that there are no current actions to take as they anticipate the ever-so-important decision of the Supreme Court. All I wish for this case is for there to actually be more to this response; that there actually are plans being laid out if ever the Supreme Court finally decides, regardless of the actual decision. And that if the Supreme Court does consider the HOR’s motion for reconsideration, the Senate is there to promptly undertake the matter simultaneously to the flood control project issues. If we students are constantly bombarded by a multitude of assignments and tests—sometimes even back-to-back—I’m sure they can handle a mere two situations.
This article serves as a compilation of the recent corruption being revealed in today’s modern Philippines. Honestly, in the Big 25? If 2025 is not the best time to drop all these incompetencies, I don’t know what is! At the end of the day, my purpose as a columnist is not to put these people (emphasis on people) to shame. It is aptly what I stood for in writing this article: remind everyone that it is in moral initiative and unity that we resolve even the most towering farms that house vicious crocodiles.
