Wednesday, August 28, 2013

The Price We Pay

It's all out in the open. Most of us knew for decades yet no one dared to say anything. Year after year, president after president, generations after generations; it's not new. Corrupt officials still rule the nation, people are still paying for a substandard service and citizens still die of hunger.

I'm not surprised that it took a long time for the issue to break out into the open. The President himself was a congressman and a senator, meaning he knew this was going on, he himself may have benefited from it.

What my parents worked hard to earn, what my grandparents paid for good governance and what I give now as a responsible citizen; all that money gets funneled into nothingness. While we scrape and save up for simple pleasures in life these leaders get to swim in money.

Mr. President, if Filipinos drown in flood waters because funds for anti-flood measures were stolen shouldn't those responsible be charged of involuntary manslaughter? Look it up, you know it's true. There better be justice. The government dares to prosecute tax evaders while corrupt officials get to walk freely. I challenge the ranks, issue a statement of arrest for those implicated in this. Let's not let them go into hiding just like Napoles. The ranks need to be cleaned. I, as a citizen, demand to know where the annual national budget goes, how much you earn and how much you spend. It's only fair. The government knows how much I earn, since you take out a significant percentage of it. It's money I never get to see.

May those who can say they never stole from us citizens stand up proud. Then publish their financial statements, I want to see those hypocrites defend themselves and their pride crumble. Shame them. This needs to be done so that no one with the same motives would ever run for public service and would dare do it again.

Abolish the PDAF. One agency should hold the funds, another does the accounting and publishes the findings. It's a basic financial principle, learn it. This way we get to go after a small group if there'a an anomaly. No one else to point fingers at. Transparency.

Filipinos, when are we going to learn? Those we put up in pedestals no longer see us worth dying for. For them money is worth killing for. Years from now would you desire to watch the same things happen all over again? The pattern needs to be broken. Carry your responsibility. We put them up there, we chose them to hold those funds, we gave them freedom to do as they see fit. This is the price we pay. Will we make the same mistakes?

No comments:

Post a Comment