The world marks International Anti-Corruption Day tomorrow, Dec. 9. This year’s commemoration “highlights the role of young guardians of integrity as advocates, raising awareness about corruption and its impact on their communities,” according to the United Nations.
The young leaders are also expected to share their insights “on the links between organized crime and corruption, the key role of AI and emerging technologies, and the connection between corruption, peace and security, demonstrating why combating corruption is essential for a fair and secure future.”
In the Philippines, this year’s commemoration stings.
The country is embroiled in an unprecedented corruption scandal. Even before the Priority Development Assistance Fund scandal broke in 2013, people have always known that corruption takes away from the people a significant amount that could redound to their benefit. But this year’s controversy, which began with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s “Mahiya Naman Kayo!” State-of-the-Nation Address in July, has shown the people just how entrenched corruption is in our society, and how widely it has spread.
In the beginning, our attention was on inadequate or ghost flood-control projects in some provinces. Now we have a better sense of the magnitude of the plunder of public funds. We are up against greedy politicians and wily business owners out to rake in money for which they have not worked hard.
We have seen some arrests and have been promised that there would be more to come. But as we inch closer to the end of this eventful year, Filipinos are still waiting for arrests, indictments, prosecution, and eventual conviction of bigger personalities. They are those who squandered the power they had, knowing full well it would have disastrous effects on the people and would erode our faith in our institutions. And yet they did it anyway.
More tragically, we are up against an entire system that thrives in opacity, accepts rotten practice as normal, rewards those who act with impunity, and disheartens those who want to stay honest on the job.
“Corruption is a complex social, political and economic phenomenon that affects all countries. Corruption undermines democratic institutions, slows economic development and contributes to governmental instability,” the United Nations says. These do not need to be spelled out for Filipinos. We know too well, and too viscerally, how corruption weakens us all.
We look to our youth for a bit of hope. They could temper idealism with pragmatism. They are able to use the tools of technology to improve the way governments are run, and find novel ways to obtain and verify information. Indeed they have a crucial role in the fight versus corruption. They compose the bulk of our population who will make the democratic decisions for the rest of the country. Perhaps they could inspire their elders to take up action despite all previous disappointments and frustrations.
On International Anti-Corruption Day and every day, may we dare hope that it is still possible to fight a crippling system, take concrete steps toward it, and ultimately get the government that our long-suffering people deserve.
