Friday, March 18, 2011

What is corruption?



     “Our earth is degenerate in these latter days; bribery and corruption are common; children no longer obey their parents; and the end of the world is evidently approaching.”[1]

     The word corruption has only been attached to politics. Corruption for us is only about the money that politicians get from the government revenue. We have always believed that when a person wants to be a politician or is a politician, that person is a corrupt one. But there are many classifications and forms of corruption that we might not know, that not only revolves about money, about politicians and in the government.

     According to lawyers, there are some broad classifications of corruption. Among these is petty corruption that is practiced only on a smaller scale. It is the use of public office for private benefit in the course of delivering a public service. It usually involves relatively small amounts of money. Another one is grand corruption which is the most dangerous and underground type of corruption. An instance is policy making where its proposal and implementation are compromised by corrupt practices. It is usually practiced by public officers in high positions such as councilors where they get kickbacks for ensuring contracts that are granted to specific contractors. It usually occurs at financial, political and administrative centers of authority.

     A political corruption is usually associated with electoral procedure which includes voting irregularities; nepotism and cronyism, the former means appointing friends to positions of authority regardless of their qualifications, and the latter on the other hand means favoritism granted to relatives or friends regardless of merit. Another form of corruption is on business. It is often not regarded as a crime, rather as a means to accelerate business progression but still, it is regarded as corruption.

    Under these classifications and forms of corruptions are bribery, inside trading, money laundering, embezzlement which is the act of dishonestly taking or secreting assets by one or more individuals to whom such assets have been entrusted, tax evasion and accounting irregularities.

    Corruption is also being practiced by everyone roughly everyday. When somebody offers you a woman and you do the work because of that offer, you are indulging in corruption. When you are just delaying the matter and are not doing the work as per norms prescribed, the man is suffering, though you did not take money, yet it is one item of corruption. When the people connected with you entertains you, though you are not receiving any money from them, but they are spending money on the occasion, that is regarded as a corruption. If you are not doing any work and are receiving monthly pay without any break, this amount to corruption because your pay and wages are coming out of the public revenues or out of the balances of your employer, you are indulging in corruption. When you are not taking care of your children and spending that amount on other ladies who have got no connection with the family, such expenses are regarded as corruption. When you work like a call girl, dancing girls and a prostitute and are selling your body to others against money, you are violating the norms of the society and all these items come within the scope of corruption. When you are deceiving the people and pretending that you are a godly man and collecting money from them by misleading them, you are indulging in corruption. All those who are living on charity, those who are not earning their own livelihood and are dependant upon others without any cause and all those who are showing wrongly that they are poor people and are taking something on concession rates from the state or from some social welfare organizations are corrupt people. All those who are bringing children on this earth but are not bringing them up properly and not giving them proper education, all those who are crossing matrimonial bonds and are having extra matrimonial relations, and all those who are not taking care of their parents are corrupt people.
     Corruption in the government has always been there but the Filipinos are more stunned by the extent of corruption in the military. Corruption among these people in authority is only known when some brave hearted persons come out to speak the truth for all the people to know about their practices. People would always say that public officials who have stolen from government treasury must be punished with severely. But so much has been lost to unpunished theft. The case of Maj. Gen. Garcia is obviously a test to the Filipino people to wipe out this dirt in its society.  This is a test of the government’s determination to walk on President Aquino’s “the straight and narrow path”.
     The testimony of Heidi Mendoza, who sacrificed her job, her individual security and that of her family, has brought to light the extent of corruption committed by Maj. Gen. Garcia and the powerful generals. The nation is horrified by the extent of the greed and corruption that have been institutionalized in the Philippine military. It is sickened at the difference between the badly equipped foot soldiers who brave the war zones for the meager amount they receive for their families and the generals laze around in their mansions and enjoying multiple-millions for their families.
     On March 1, Heidi Mendoza and Retired Lt. Col. George Rabusa went to Adamson University to give a speech on their involvement on AFP corruption cases and on the forum about speaking the truth. She shared stories on how she teaches her children at least once every day by telling them what was right and wrong, what cheating truly meant, at weekends they would help their maid in the smallest ways like doing their own laundry. She said “by doing this she believes that she has at least molded her children to be a good citizen”, she then added “you are the next generation who will continue for the people and the country; I hope that you will never be the next corrupted people.”
     Heidi’s words reflected on the Adamson’s Prayer especially on the line of “Just in the face of unfair circumstances, true when the world's values contradict my own”. These lines tell about speaking the truth and being not a corrupt which is what the institution is teaching their students.
     Indeed, the world is worsening these days. Corruption does not only revolve in money, politics, business and government but also among people and how we live our lives roughly everyday. Corruption is everywhere and is now considered as a way of living not only of those who are in authority but also of the ordinary people. Corruption nowadays has been part of our daily lives.



[1] Assyrian clay tablet 2800 B.C., http://thinkexist.com/quotation/our-earth-is-degenerate-in-these-latter-days/762218.html

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