The long history of our nation is tainted with corruption. The long existence of poverty in our country is a sign of decayed system within our government. Janet Napoles may well be the face of this pork barrel scam, but behind that face is a massive corruption in the various agencies of our government. All of the Presidents, after Marcos, promised to end poverty but to no avail. I guess the problem is not the program itself, but the system that allows corruption in our government. The current President adapts the slogan of “Matuwid na Daan” but barely gives an effort to dismantle the culture of corruption that plagues almost all of government agencies.
Last August 24, 2013 I joined the peaceful “MillionPeopleMarch” in Luneta. Inspite of being peaceful, one could feel the anger and the clamor for change among the people. When I went home from the rally, some of my conferrer asked me “What then after this march?” I answered, “Nothing.” The purpose of MillionPeopleMarch is to let our government leaders know that we are united and we are calling for some reform in the system of our government. I hope that they will do their parts and help eliminate corruption. On the other side, we should take our part in this fight and ask ourselves, what can I do to help?
If we look at the different sectors in our society, we can also find various form of corruption. In a family setting, if you stole money from your parents, you are corrupt. On the street, if you break a traffic rule and you bribe the enforcer, both of you are corrupt. If you have a business and you cheated on your costumer or you don’t pay your taxes, you are corrupt. If you pay leverage money when you transact in public office, you are corrupt. If you cheat other people for your own advantage, then you are corrupt.
If we ask “What is the bottom line of this massive corruption in our society?” The answer is GREED, one of the seven capital sins. And by definition, greed is the excessive or inordinate desire for wealth or gain of material goods. Greed becomes the driving force that makes a person corrupt. It is sad to say that culture of greed is creeping in our society today, melting down our moral foundation.
During the celebration of the WYD 2013, Pope Francis visited one of the notorious shantytowns in Rio de Janiero, Brazil. As he stood in front of the youth, the pope denounced the “culture of selfishness” and the “culture of individualism”. The pope invited us to make our personal commitment according to our own particular opportunity, to end social injustice in our society today.
As we call for social justice for our society today, maybe we could also start our own personal journey of conversion. Let us contribute in building the “Matuwid na Daan” by making some moral decision for social equality. As we clamor for healing of our wounded nation, let us also heal our very self from the wound of individualism, selfishness and greed. Let us ask the intercession of Mary our mother to help us to heal our land.
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