Lawlessness on the road and lawlessness when it comes to the pilfering of public funds for infrastructure aren’t that different. In fact, one could say that both can be somewhat curtailed with one particular deterrent: the certainty of being caught and punished.

To illustrate my point, let’s compare for example the streets of Metro Manila vs the streets of any former US military base like Clark or Subic. In Manila, most motorists are fairly cavalier with the law, often ignoring even simple rules like the speed limit, or posted signs like no left turn or no U-turn. However, in Subic or Clark, even the often-ignored speed limit is surprisingly being observed. It’s like entering a different country, particularly with how behaved motorists are.

Perhaps a key factor to this attitude change is the certainty of being caught, and the severity of the punishment itself. Even tiny offenses, like failing to come to a stop at a stop sign, are cited by enforcers. You’ve likely heard stories of friends or relatives getting caught for one. Traffic cops here are not likely to let you off easy, not intimidated by who you ‘pretend’ you are, and I’m pretty sure will not take kindly to bribe offers. Moreso, the thought of having to go back to Clark or Subic after a few days and paying the fine is more than enough of a deterrent for everyone else.

The same can be said for the misuse of public funds for infrastructure. If there were a higher power that were a little more involved in monitoring, and more importantly, flagging and investigating dubious insertions and projects, there might be much less incentive for those in power to enrich themselves with the people’s money.

The trouble is that, in spite of all the checks and balances already present, these personal enrichment strategies appear to have only thrived even more in the past decade. There are troubling accusations that the watchdog agencies themselves were involved in letting these crimes slide, without repercussions for the perpetrators. Perhaps most infuriating of all is the alleged involvement of two politicians. It’s evident that the fear of being caught, and more importantly punished, has vanished. This not only encourages these perpetrators to run wild and free, not even starting on the projects they requested these funds for. It’s also allowing these charlatans’ friends and family to shamelessly flaunt their ill-gotten gains on social media.

A few administrations ago, conspicuous spending and lavish lifestyles — that are a pretty clear indicator of this kind of illegal personal enrichment — was quite surprisingly somewhat curtailed to a certain extent. Many chalk it up to then BIR Commissioner, Kim Henares, known for her widespread scrutiny of all manner of tax evaders. It seems few were safe from her gaze, with politicians, celebrities, and even doctors, and lawyers put under the magnifying glass, particularly when it came to discrepancies in their tax returns.

I remember that even the auto industry was quaking in their boots when she was around. Luxury brand distributors, particularly of the German brands, were suddenly squeamish about revealing their vehicles’ prices. Suddenly, nearly every European vehicle was listed as ‘price on application’ (POA). I’ll leave it to the readers to figure out why the brands would do something like that.

It affected private owners and collectors as well. As I was working for a luxury magazine at the time, it was incredibly difficult to feature notable car collections or even getting expert opinions on classic or luxury vehicle matters for fear of showing up on Henares’s radar.

It’s evident that all it really takes is a competent enforcer, willing to prosecute these crimes (rather than partake of them), that will put the fear in any would-be offender. And this should be the most obvious, of course: if found guilty, no special treatment, house arrest, or commuted sentences should be allowed. Is it not warranted that these perpetrators suffer behind the bars of the very decrepit and substandard jails they stole budgets from?

If the certainty of being caught, shamed, and punished is established, even with the slow pace that these procedures take, just a few high-profile cases will be enough to deter many future crimes for the foreseeable future, and hopefully encourage more whistleblowers to speak out. And of course, the enforcement has to keep going beyond just the current administration, consistently and without bias. Our sad state of affairs today can only be blamed on the leniency of the past years, opposing administrations and policies, and these politicians’ very obvious attempts to cover-up their own crimes.