Filipino Forgetfulness: The Greatest Gift We Give to Corruption
The devastation that is brought about by the multitude of floods that occur annually serves as a testament to the incompetence of our government. As the flood waters in our country receded, what emerged was not merely the wreckage of submerged homes, but also cracks in a pipeline long corroded by government corruption. In places where Filipinos believed multi-billion-peso projects had been built by the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), all that stood were weeds and mud. It was in the aftermath of all this drama that talks of the DPWH flood control budget, the Discayas, and social media “nepo babies” rose to prominence.
Not without reason, of course. From the luxurious lives of “nepo babies” to the billions of taxpayer money that has disappeared, these examples showcase how public service can be twisted into a private enterprise that benefits the powerful. While the DPWH does deserve its critics, with all eyes fixated on this flood control corruption scandal, the Philippines has forgotten something: Vice President Sara Duterte’s impeachment. Given that these two issues are cut from the same cloth, the narrative is no longer just about missing funds but about a political elite that thrives on the same impunity because of our forgetfulness.
The harsh reality of these scandals is that they both stem from the same problems that the Philippine government and its officials have always had. Whether it’s pork barrelling, getting kickbacks, or anything in between, corruption is a systemic disease rampant across the Philippine government. It may be different officials or different departments, but one thing is common: Filipinos are always the victim, and most of us can’t seem to remember that. Videos go viral, hashtags trend, and rants are posted on social media, all for it to be forgotten when the next scandal comes along. This cycle of outrage and amnesia has left us stuck in a loop, allowing the same heinous acts to flourish and continue throughout our history. The only difference is who’s the new public enemy.
The pattern is nothing new. Just look at the past two decades. Under former President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo’s administration, funds meant to supply farmers with fertilizer were funneled into election campaigns, and she asked then-Commission on Elections Commissioner Virgilio Garcillano to manipulate the 2004 election results. However, despite all these scandals, her political career still recovered as she ran and won as Pampanga representative after her presidential term, and eventually became Speaker of the House of Representatives in 2018.
Each scandal sparks fury, rallies, and talk shows, but where are the lasting reforms that come from them? A few arrests, public shaming, maybe a Senate or Congressional hearing for the cameras, and then life moves on until the next scandal. Dangerously, we forget, and this collective amnesia is the reason the Marcoses, once driven out in the People Power Revolution, when we swore “never again,” now sit comfortably back in Malacañang. If even a dictatorship could be whitewashed into a “Golden Era” of Philippine history, what chance do smaller scandals have of enduring in our memory and history?
Problems that we ignore, ones that seemingly “disappear” from our memories, always return more destructive than before. Our history is filled with instances of our amnesia, and many of our leaders, past and present, have and will continue to exploit us for it. It is not enough to put someone in jail or demand a resignation. These are mere band-aids, not practical and long-term solutions. We treat corruption like a series of individual crimes instead of the structural cancer it truly is, one that dates back to our colonial history. And, without addressing the root of the issue, cancers always come back.
The root problem of our nation does not only concern Sara Duterte’s confidential funds or the DPWH’s flood control projects, but every single one of us. Corruption doesn’t end with arrests or apologies, and certainly not when we just let the situation blow over. Corruption ends when we draw the line on how long we will keep tolerating a system that thrives on our ability to move on. We’ve seen the effects of corruption, and until we finally hold those in power accountable and never let them forget every corrupt and heinous act they have done, government officials know that they can simply wait for each and every scandal to blow over. For now, these officials are receiving the greatest gift we can ever give to corruption: forgetfulness.
