“The problem of lifestyle checks of government people cannot be temporary. It should be made permanent, otherwise it is useless”
With all the kinds of anomalies being uncovered following investigation by no less than President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. of flood control projects in Metro Manila and nearby provinces, it would seem impossible that graft and corruption in the government can be stopped.
The problem is how do you moderate the insatiable greed of people, like the contractor for instance of a public works project who has some 40+ high end and luxury vehicles?
And how, my gulay, do you stop the prevalence of ghost projects or non-existent public works projects and find out who are involved?
There are also instances of public works projects being for sale, meaning they never go through the usual public bidding, Santa Banana.
I cannot imagine what kind of people do these things.
It is like robbing not only the government but the people who actually own the money that the government is spending.
I have been a journalist for the past seven decades and as far as I can remember graft and corruption has always been a big problem of every administration because of the insatiable greed of people in government.
There have been attempts by administrations to stop, or at least minimize graft and corruption, but the problem, Santa Banana, is that no administration has succeeded.
Unless people appointed in government are angels or saints, this problem seems to persist although past administrations have tried their best to at least minimize it.
The order for instance, my gulay, of President Marcos Jr. to have lifestyle checks on all government officials appears to be good, but I cannot imagine how it will stop government people from committing graft and corruption when they have the opportunity to do it,
Take, for instance, the contactor of the DPWH having as I said no less than 40+ high end luxury cars. The question is how did the contractor acquire them and by what means were they acquired?
Yes, the Bureau of Customs is investigating how this contractor managed to have 40+ luxury high end cars. Were they smuggled or were they just collected?
That is another problem to face on the part of the Bureau of Customs. In the case of public works, there are multiple people involved whenever graft and corruption are committed in a project.
There is the district engineer, there is the contractor, there is the public official, a mayor or a congressman, who is the proponent of the project.
According to what I have been reading, they are all accountable. How far is their involvement or how much did they make in the process?
My gulay, it seems the greed of people is endless.
Yes, lifestyle checks ordered by President Marcos Jr. are timely.
And he has already agreed to a lifestyle check himself, as an example to the people. But the problem of lifestyle checks of government people cannot be temporary. It should be made permanent, otherwise it is useless.
That is why I suggest that the Senate should make a permanent commission led by people with unquestionable credibility.
It should be a permanent body because graft and corruption will continue to persist long after the BBM administration has finished its term. .
With all the other problems that have been pulling down our country from becoming the country we always wanted to have, there will always be the big problem of graft and corruption.
With all these anomalies being uncovered which have compelled the President to order lifestyle checks for all government people, the big question is HOW CAN YOU STOP GRAFT AND CORRUPTION IN GOVERNMENT?
Santa Banana, to me, no amount of lifestyle checks or any government commission created can fully stop graft and corruption because of people’s greed.
There are people who should be checked because of the scandalous nature of their lifestyle, but as long as man is man, graft and corruption will persist in the government.
It’s actually insatiable greed that compels people to steal from the government.
Will having lifestyle checks stop graft and corruption?
People in the government must be held accountable for what they are doing. We can only minimize but not stop them at all.
