by jerwynvl
It is an aged and tiring sight to see an old adage posted on the wall of our schools, even framed and highlighted, as these words that are supposed to purport our burdens. It says,” Honesty is the best policy”. The quote would simply touch our cornea and pass though our iris with immense explosion towards the core of our brains and then languish within every cell or our gray matter to each muscle tissue of our body and then pull us to perform sincerity and truthfulness. Oh, it’s that simple? That kinetic motion would impress our intentions and then we perform our best with the ulterior motive to spare all true honesty and replicate the person, whoever he or she is, who invented these old saying.
But I doubt. Yes, I have to admit, it is not that simple. It is even safer to say that although, after we realize the truthfulness behind the quote even amidst hundreds or thousands of bombardments coming from the walls of each and every school, we are in much of the tolerance from this simple saying - tolerance that spells either ignorance or laxity. But we are well aware of the truth which encompasses our day-to-day events. Newspapers, TV and radio reports are all consistently inscribing us thoroughly with all the truth and nothing but the truth. Perhaps, the only block we can identify that maybe hampering us to see these truths are our own personal denial. It may be of our own integrity falling along or it is our own personal loss if we are to stare with that stigmatic word of CORRUPTION straight in the eye.
Much has been created out of the word CORRUPTION since it’s inception to our language and to our culture. From screenplays to stage plays and from short stories, novels and even dictionary, we are being taken by the term since time immemorial. It may even be rational to declare that dishonesty is well within the veins of every living Filipino, whether as the corruptor or the corrupted. Can you hear the howling of wolves? I do. We are not born yesterday. We can see exactly how the entire nation of Filipinos is being carried away by political floods affecting our nation’s economy. It is true, indeed, that the end clearly justifies the means.
Then why is it that after all these clear manifestations of failure that we can still do nothing? That after we are able to say “HEY, HOUSTON, WE HAVE A PROBLEM”, we still do nothing. And when we realize we are dumped, we start to feel the awkwardness of our standing and begin to do protests. Maybe, just maybe, we are very busy doing other things rather than to be vigilant. Or as what political analysts say that we are Filipinos- the usual forgetful Filipinos. That after we won two People Powers, we start to forget and seldom relive the moments so we are again being tossed to and fro into the not-so-distant waters of our political landscape.
As a democratic country, one of our rights is to form a regime and make it a government for and by the people through participating and exercising our concession on the electoral process. This is our ultimate right and the venue at which we prove our strength more than the powers and super powers of our heads. And it doesn’t stop there. Our elected leaders are responsible to us and are accountable to every decision they are to make. They are not the ones to be followed but us. Yet it seems that the case turned upside down. What we can do is to remind what sort of responsibilities they are accounted for, even the ways and means on how these should be done. Although they know these, perhaps, they still need our memos and reminders to do the things.
Transparency is the key. Good governance can be achieved if the government is open to all, even the smallest details, of their governing motives and moves. Corruption will be minimized if not totally obliterated if our government is transparent. Look at Mayor Jessie Robredo, the Philippine politician who showed the world that his governance can be transparent and open to all. Using the power of the cyberspace, Robredo formed a public website that even the tiniest aspects of the financial utilization are posted and can be audited by anyone from biddings to monetary collections; even every expense are open to the public not only for viewing but even for auditing. With that, Robredo was awarded as the most outstanding mayor of the country. No questions, no doubts. Why? Because he illustrated that it is possible to be transparent so that corruption and even doubts of corruption can be removed from the governing system. They just have to be opened, not locked.
It is possible. With good and honest governance through transparency, our political scenario in the Philippines will surely get better, soon.
No comments:
Post a Comment