Monuments of oppression
By Farah G. Decano
PLEASE do not excessively extol politicians for the construction of markets, open gyms, schools, towers, bridges, highways, and airports. It is their job to do so. Because they sought the position by running in elections, they must consequently perform their duties attached to it.
In other words, “dapat lang na ipagawa nila.”
To prove that they are worthy of public trust, our elected leaders must not only do what must be done. They must execute their functions better than good enough. This means that before embarking on a permanent infrastructure project, there should first be a study that identifies its relevance or purpose, social, environmental and economic impact over time, the expenses, the opportunity costs and the quality control. They should see to it that the project undergoes proper consultation with experts and the people.
Some citizens cannot help but think of these hard projects as mere juicy endeavors of government officials. According to Transparency International, our country ranked 116th least corrupt out of the 180 countries in 2022. This means that the Philippines is among the top 35 percent in the world that are widely believed to be with shady government transactions.
During his class at the Lyceum Northwestern University College of Law last Sunday, Dean Chel Diokno asserted that there is a direct correlation between corruption and violation of human rights. The higher is the incidence of dishonest dealings, the higher is the violation.
Frankly, corruption in itself is a human rights violation. The services and projects that ought to be wholly enjoyed by the public are chipped off by commissions demanded by those in power, whether in elected or appointed positions.
Human rights cover a wide range of entitlements bestowed upon individuals by virtue of their humanity. Contrary to popular notions, human rights are not limited to only political or civil rights but also include cultural, social and economic rights. The last two rights demand that our government must allocate and distribute resources in a manner that adequate food, acceptable shelter, appropriate education, sufficient social security, good health and ample and satisfactory employment opportunities are provided to the public.
If a portion or a big chunk of these resources allocated to promote, protect and enhance these basic entitlements go to the private wallets of government officials, this means that the constituencies will be deprived of what they truly deserve. The individual and the collective suffer for these stealthy violations.
Hence, instead of immediately praising our politicians for any edifice, we must first demand for accountability.
We must discard our fanatic appearances towards our leaders which undoubtedly swell the head of some. Being skeptical sometimes of our government will somehow diminish the tendency any politician or government official to just initiate any permanent project on a mere whim – “para may masabi na may project.” Worse, “para may source of kickback.”
A growing critical citizenry will encourage our government officials to be more transparent. They will know that we cannot not easily be taken for a ride. We must be able to convey our message in unison that we don’t like crumbs. We want the whole pie!
Aside from the possible commissions pocketed by some government officials, it is also good to inquire whose blood and tears were shed in the accomplishment of the said projects. If some forced or unpaid labor was employed in the construction of the projects, then they these structures are no different from the pyramids of Egypt which were built on slavery.
They say that time is the ultimate truth-teller. May our politicians be warned. They may not wish to be associated by history with permanent fixtures that may later be called monuments of oppression.
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