We begin anew today as most Filipinos snap out of holiday mode and go back to work and school.
The past two weeks were a much-needed respite from our usual preoccupations. They enabled people to put everything on pause and focus on their homes and their loved ones. During this period, people tried to set aside official business and focus on what was important.
But now that the break is over, we return to what is equally important – this time, to the life of our nation.
We ended 2025 with many unmet promises and failed expectations. We were promised that there would be big names hauled off to jail on corruption charges. But all we saw were a contractor, several public works employees behind bars. The big names, whether their whereabouts were known or not, remained elusive.
What we saw instead was more accusations of corruption, except that we no longer knew whether those making the allegations can themselves be trusted. What was certain was that the depth and breadth of questionable practices was astounding.
Senator Panfilo Lacson, chair of the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee that is looking into the mess, says he is “even more encouraged to expose more corruption issues.” It was Lacson’s privilege speeches that first provided details on the flood-control scandal. He also expressed his hope that the current leadership does not waver in its fight against corruption.
We look forward to the succeeding days that will unmask more hypocrites in government and yield verifiable information, enough to file legal charges. More than this, we also look forward to normalizing public scrutiny of government transactions, even with resistance from those who have been used to doing their jobs in secret.
Jailing the corrupt is but part of the broader quest for good governance which includes the introduction and implementation of reforms. These will, in turn, make the system less susceptible to abuse by those who are tasked to safeguard the people’s interest but who end up pursuing their own.
We welcome the return to this arduous task. The holidays renewed our fervor to fight for a government that is clean, just, honest, and fair.
