EDWIN V. FERNANDEZ l April 6, 2023 l Manila Bulletin
Corruption is a word that we come across daily for those who read the news, whether in the old broadsheets or in the confines of one’s computer or laptop. This piece seeks to look at corruption from the viewpoint of the man in the street, Juan de la Cruz. This piece aims to demonstrate how corruption affects the daily lives of citizens. Not with the drama of a Pharmally expose. Not with the breadth of the overpriced laptop scandals, but with commonplace experiences that I am certain readers will have come across as we go on with our daily lives.
You are heading northbound on EDSA, having just exited NLEX and you just coast along the heavy afternoon traffic. You are not in the innermost lane, when suddenly before you is a plastic road barrier, where you are suddenly instructed to turn left. You then try to get into the next outer lane as it is not your intention to make a U-turn. Then, the MMDA or other traffic enforcer flags you down to tell you that you have committed a traffic infraction of swerving. You explain that there was no previous sign that the innermost 2 lanes are reserved for U-turners. He simply stands his ground and cites you for violating an infraction that could have been avoided by giving drivers advanced warning through a road sign that says in effect that the two innermost lanes are reserved for U-turners, and quickly explains that the fine is at least a thousand pesos and a traffic safety seminar. This is obviously a corrupt traffic trap.
You are a small business owner seeking to renew your business license. As such, you dutifully head to City Hall to secure your Mayor’s Permit. One of the conditions is the renewal of your Fire Safety Inspection Certificate. Before you can secure the permit, you are asked to either secure new fire extinguishers or refill your old ones at a specific dealer or suffer a delay. Now we all know what that means. This is tale as old as time.
Travelling is supposed to be fun and adventure. You head north headed to past Santiago, Isabela to enjoy the pristine beaches in Cagayan Province. As you exit the CCLEx and exit the new freeway, you pass by the town of Aliaga in Nueva Ecija which connects the newly constructed freeway to the Maharlika Highway. For at least the past 10 years, this connector road has been under repair, even if sections of it are in good condition. The stop and go traffic that ensues as a result of the unending road construction largely negates the effects of the new freeway CCLex. It causes travel inconvenience and seems to reach a crescendo before elections are held.
From occupancy permits, to Customs clearances and anywhere the government has the power to license, corruption abounds.
Mass despair and hopelessness are however not prescribed. As an ordinary citizen, I have seen that institutions previously known to be hotbeds of corruption can initiate positive change. One such institution is the Land Transportation Office (LTO), where fixers have been minimized, and normally people can secure license renewals and renew car registrations within 3 hours or less. This has been aided by the presence of prominent signs that detail the procedures and the fielding of well briefed aides who can answer procedural questions. While3 hours is still long for especially daily wage earners, LTO should look for ways and means to shorten the process.
Another agency that has managed to streamline its operations and deliver good public service is the Firearms and Explosives Office (FEO), which has adopted steps similar to the LTO, posting large and visible signs detailing the processes which need to be followed, and more so by ensuing that virtually all the regular and uniformed personnel are fully knowledgeable about the system.
As I said, though corruption is rife in our government, wholesale condemnation of the system is not called for. In my opinion, an armed revolution will never succeed because there are enough good public officials out there especially in the LGUs that really deliver services to their constituents. Consider that in the majority of LGUs, free ambulance services are provided by the LGU, a service that would normally cost thousands of pesos for the rural folk. You can see this by the dozens of ambulances from various LGUs parked in front of such hospitals as PGH, East Avenue Medical Center, Heart Center, Lung Center and Kidney Center.
Of course, many of these vehicles are marked with the mayor or whoever donated the vehicle for use, plastered on their sides, but I am willing to ignore this for the meantime as the shadow cost of public service.
In many of the local governments, the head , may he/she be the governor or the mayor, may not be entirely responsible for the corruption that reeks in local governments. In many cases, the entrenched bureaucracy is the weak link, as mayors and governors come and go while the bureaucrats keep their heads down and resume their corrupt ways if they see that they can. It is incumbent upon the elected officials to set the tone, otherwise the rot will seep downward through the system.
To paraphrase a great military leader: “An army of men led by a criminal will act like criminals and an army of men led by a just and honest man will act like honest men.”
*** For comments: edwinvfernandez@gmail.com