Rafael L. Oriel, Jr.
3 Mar 2008

 

 

According to the news, Erap said, “The Philippines has been branded as the number 2 most corrupt nation in the world and number 1 most corrupt country in Southeast Asia; when we go out of the country, it is a bit of a disgrace to admit that we are a Filipino.”

Mr. Carrera, since you talked about compatibility, does that sound familiar to you? It sounds like an echo of your comments, is it not? Of course, you do recognize it.

For quite sometime, it was one of your favorite topics and expressions in Punch Forum. If you are shouting to the world that your country is the number 2 most corrupt nation in the world and number 1 most corrupt country in Southeast Asia mainly because some survey said so, does it actually mean that you are patriotic and fighting against corruption? I do not think so but let us leave the Punch readers to be the judge for that.

By the way, a spokeswoman of Erap said that the former President remains “the living symbol of Philippine democracy”. Wow! Isn’t that unbelievable?

There is corruption in the Philippines, no question about that, but that does not automatically mean that the whole population or majority of Filipinos are corrupt just like you are claiming.

There is also corruption in the countries you mentioned but that does not mean that the whole country is corrupt.

It is clear that the attitude of their citizens towards their country has very remote semblance to your attitude towards Philippines and its people. They do not shout to the world about the corruption in their country.

We can see that matured and responsible people stick to issues being discussed and refrain from calling names and issuing malicious allegations.

Besides, unlike in the Philippines, they run the risk of being sued for all their money’s worth if they try to destroy or damage the reputations of other people without proof.

Incidentally, unethical tabloid newspapers use it to increase their profit.

Obviously, in the countries you mentioned, very few people enjoy corrupting the minds of others. They recognize the fact that cynicism and sarcasm or extreme pessimistic views are not healthy to their community because such practices can possibly corrupt the minds of other people and can lead to hopelessness and depression which is considered nowadays as one of the mental illnesses. Corrupting the minds of other people is contagious and not healthy to society.

Ironically, the outrageous practice was used by religious leaders during the time of our Lord Jesus Christ. By corrupting the minds of the people, they successfully turned the crowd into a mob against Him and the rest is history, as we all know, it leads to His crucifixion.

Maya Angelou said, “There’s a world of difference between truth and facts. Facts can obscure the truth.” She also said, “There is nothing so pitiful as a young cynic because he has gone from knowing nothing to believing nothing.”

All that is necessary for evil to succeed in our beloved country is for the supporters, friends and relatives of the devil to smear the treasured integrity, reputations and good names of those who are patriotic.

If all our heroes are destroyed and/or damaged, who else is left to guard and protect the rights and freedoms of the Filipinos?