UNDER THE MICROSCOPE
The new year is now upon us. It is tempting, nay, compelling, to forget the awful and tawdry events that happened in 2024, with its many natural and man-made disasters, if only to try saving our sanity in these trying times.
How can we forget the continuing suffering of our countrymen who are experiencing flooding, typhoons, earthquakes and fires? Or those who are living in dire poverty and can’t afford to have decent meals?
Or how do we process the continuing political debacles and attempts at bending the budget to provide more pork for politicians?
We can at least make use of them as the bases for our decisions in the coming year, in which we will have mid-term elections. That way, we can hold up more hope that things will get better.
A recent survey though, shows a decreasing trend for Filipinos to be hopeful for the next year. In fact, this year’s survey that only 90 percent of Filipinos are hopeful for a better new year is at a 16-year low. Even during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, optimism was at 91 percent. Predictably, optimism was progressively lower with lower educational attainment, dropping to 83 percent for non-elementary graduates.
Even the lowest figure is indicative of the inherent optimism of Filipinos in general, considering the dark times we are in. While others may lose all hope and resign themselves to a stark future, not so, the Filipinos. Being a Christian country, we tend to send prayers skywards to heaven seeking divine intercession for our physical and spiritual salvation, thus our hopeful nature. Call it deus ex machina, but our belief in our newborn Savior always trumps despair and cynicism.
But no amount of optimism alone will reverse our downward trajectory as a nation. There has to be willful action, be it at a personal or collective behavior. Thus, for the year 2025, let us make our New Year’s resolutions count toward improving governance in the Philippines.
To begin with, since corruption is so widespread among government bureaucrats and high-ranking officials, especially the elected ones, a simple New Year’s resolution would be, “I will not give a bribe to any government person, lowly clerk or not.”
Corruption exists only because there is someone willing to give a bribe and one to receive it. Corruption is widespread in the world and has existed from the earliest times, but there is no reason why we should tolerate it. By giving bribes, we are in fact, validating its existence. We find that the most progressive countries are the ones that aggressively curtail corruption at all levels, and they have their progress as evidence that good governance pays off for the people in general, whereas widespread corruption only benefits a few.
Another New Year’s resolution should be: “I will vote for, actively support, and campaign for candidates with proven track records of integrity and have no record of corruption.” This is a positive action which should put more leaders of integrity in power, both locally and nationally. For indeed, “When we put the wrong people in power, wrong things happen.” This is from a video of the Move as One Coalition, “Let’s fix the Philippines.” It shows so many wrongly planned and executed infrastructure that not only inconveniences the public, like steep ramps for the handicapped, but are also dangerous to life and limb like pedestrian lanes blocked by posts and elevated walkways that end in a drop.
But it is more than just infrastructure that needs to be fixed. It is a whole system of corruption that leads to widespread poverty, poor education, and widespread stunting of children, robbing the majority of Filipinos of a better future. It also exacerbates the effects of climate change due to diversion of funds for public works like flood control and unmitigated destruction of forests by logging and mining companies either owned by corrupt politicians or by persons allied with them. Thus, it is imperative we put the right people in power to drastically reduce, if not eliminate the causes of environmental destruction.
For our government workers, their New Year’s resolution should be: “I will not accept bribes or gifts in exchange for favors in government transactions.” Surely, we have many, if not the majority of government workers, who are upright and conscientious in discharging their duties. If some are not, then it’s time for them to turn over a new leaf and start the new year on the correct moral footing.
There you are, three noteworthy New Year’s resolutions that we should all subscribe to. These are small steps but we need to start somewhere on a personal level.
Here’s to a better, brighter and less corrupt 2025. Happy New Year to all!