Youths rallied vs corruption

MANILA, Philippines - Calling on young Filipinos to join the righteous and continue the fight against graft and corruption in government, Ombudsman Conchita Carpio Morales led the International Anti-Corruption Day march in Quezon City yesterday.

Morales slammed the evils brought about by what she descibed as the love for money and the desire to get rich quick.

She said this desire “has unfortunately become the top goal of today’s youth.”

Do not get me wrong. There is nothing in dreaming or achieving a comfortable way of life,” she said.

Morales told the crowd that it is not money per se which is the root of evil but rather love for money.

“When you embezzle people’s money which should have been devoted to road infrastructure, medicine distribution or classroom construction, then you are taking away something from the poorest of the poor and deprive them of their rightful chance at life,” Morales said. 

In continuing the fight against graft, Morales emphasized the call to reform can only take off if there is a shared dissatisfaction of the status quo.

“Discontentment with the past allows us to improve on the present. This notion also prevents us from sitting on our laurels. The campaign against corruption is bound to win, in the sense that it disturbs us and moves us to action,” Morales said.

“The people are hoping to see the day where ‘diyes porsyento’ (ten percent) reverts back to its antecedent term that instills fear of God in “Diyos por Santo.” They hope to see the day when solutions and orders are decided by considerations of what the senior officials know and not by who they know,” she added.

With yesterday’s march to righteousness, Morales said more and more people are indeed sending across the message that shady deals involving public funds need to stop.

“This gargantuan task, of course, cannot be done overnight. It cannot be accomplished with a single indignation rally. It is a continuous and concerted struggle. Indeed, there is a long way to go. And it is not a walk in the park,” Morales said.

Nevertheless, the good thing is that leadership by example counts and that everybody is expected to toe the line, she said. 

“The nation is starting to nourish a greener landscape. With everyone pitching in an effort or two, we can say that there is hope after all,” Morales said.

Morales cited how Transparency International reported in its latest Corruption Perceptions Index that the Philippine has improved in the rankings, from 134 in 2010, to 129 in 2011, and to 105 in 2012.  

She also took notice of how the Survey of Enterprises on Corruption recently conducted by the Social Weather Stations (SWS) showed a number of government agencies improved on their sincerity ratings with the Office of the Ombudsman climbing 46 notches in the sincerity ratings from -8 in 2009 to + 38 in 2012. 

“This marked improvement goes to show that we must be doing something right. This occasional ‘pat-on-the back’ helps in inspiring us to carry on the battle against corruption. As we do not rest on these laurels, expect us to continue rolling up our sleeves and getting the job done,” Morales said.