And in the year 2001, as if to confirm this avowal, a generation again defined itself in a curious exercise of righteous anger against a man and his minions who had defiled the public trust. This generation, which wore a fresh face and conducted its protests in an unusual manner, proved to all and sundry that it refused to be taken for fools by a fool whom it had unfortunately, albeit unwittingly, allowed to assume power in the first place. Yet another challenge met, yet another generation defined.
A year later, we’re still waiting for the other shoe to drop. The next challenge is surely in the offing, ready to be defied and to define the next generation. But in the meantime, this generation seems to have been lulled into that all-too-familiar sense of complacency that follows a "defining" event. It’s a dangerous place to be, really, considering that it was the same indolent interval that allowed American colonization of our minds and resources, granted Ferdinand Marcos untrammeled authority, permitted traditional politicians to run this country amok, and sanctioned the return of US troops to our shores. A generation is defined by its actions against the forces that challenge it, but what forces challenge us to define ourselves in the here and now?
The answer to this question came in the form of coffee, cake, and a conversation with 10 young representatives of the generation that defined itself by trooping to EDSA and texting Joseph Estrada off his beleaguered throne. Not counting myself, of course, or our friend Rommel Magno, who are both technically considered a part of the nation’s youth, but whom our young(er!) companions insisted on calling "Ma’am" and "Sir" (ouch). The smiling, wide-eyed faces in front of me were no different from the kids you see hanging out at the malls and bars with their cell phone appendages, except that most of them were wearing T-shirts with the strange taglines "Tax ng Ina Mo!" and "Walang Ku-corrupt!". Perhaps even more extraordinary was the fact that they had forgone their usual summer gimmicks to sit and talk about the new challenge they had all decided to take on…corruption. "The issue of government corruption is close to the hearts of students, especially those from the State University," says Jason San Juan, a Broadcasting Communication major at the University of the Philippines and volunteer of the Walang Ku-corrupt movement, an anti-corruption campaign that has brought all these young minds together. "Ultimately, if a government is corrupt, education is bound to suffer, and this of course is a matter of personal concern. Unlike in the past, there appears to be no polarizing factor that can bring the youth together to act against a certain issue. But corruption in itself is something that should be fought against, by the youth in particular, especially if we want to obtain the gains we expected from EDSA 2. The youth are just looking for the proper forum to bring out and address their concerns, and Walang Ku-corrupt is one such vehicle."
"Kung sa EDSA 2 nga, nakuhang ma-unite ang youth through text messaging, what more now that we have an organization to promote our ideals?" adds Albert Alcanse of the Far Eastern University. "Walang Ku-corrupt’s main concern is the youth, which showed its impact on the nation’s affairs during the last ‘revolution.’ In this new revolution against corruption, who better to tap than young people like us? Given the nature of the campaign, mas madaling maihatid sa estudyante."
The issue of corruption seems to be such a heavy burden to be borne by students and young adults who should, at this time in their lives, be concerned only with budgeting their allowance or what movie to see next. But this text generation is far from clueless or apathetic. "I was first attracted by the T-shirt," admits Jonathan Chua, a Sociology major at the Polytechnic University of the Philippines. "Which is actually the point of the Walang Ku-corrupt marketing campaign... for people to sit up and notice and, hopefully, to act. To get a shirt, I agreed to spearhead the campaign in my school, and because of the issues that caught my attention, I took matters seriously. There are many abstractions of corruption, but we’ve seen it for ourselves, even as young adults. Did you know that 40 percent of an average barangay’s budget is dissipated by corruption? I’ve seen this for myself as a member of the Sangguniang Kabataan."
And these kids seem to know more about where the nation’s money goes than the average Filipino adult, and that is a very good thing. "We’re focusing on the system," says "Sir" Rommel. "Faulty systems make corrupt individuals. But considering the magnitude of the problem of corruption, we’re chipping away at it a little at a time, focusing on problem areas that need the most attention. Thus, the ‘Tax ng Ina Mo’ campaign, which is focused on corruption in tax administration and procurement. Not many people know that P90 billion is lost every year in procurement, and P250 to P400 billion to tax administration. For every peso that should go to the government, only 50 centavos is collected. These are the things that the citizenry should know, and these are the things that Walang Ku-corrupt brought to the attention of 57 youth participants at its recent summer camp since this campaign is a vehicle for the youth to participate in reform initiatives."
I’ve learned about the BIR and how it works, and what changes should be implemented, and how the government budget is being allotted. We even formulated our own budget, and now we know how things should be," says Kathy Villegas, a medical student and University Student Council chairperson of UP Manila. "Our parents are taxpayers, but we should be keen observers and find out where their hard-earned money goes," adds FEU Mass Communications student Manolo Reyes. "Raising awareness is the first step in meeting the challenge of corruption," agrees Grace Vera Cruz, a recent graduate of the University of the Philippines. "And to do this, we are going to conduct a poll among students as to who they think is the most corrupt agency and government official. At the end of the year, we’re going to give out awards to the worst offenders." So look out, buwayas and buwitres; you’re being watched.
It’s not just the students who are being encouraged to participate in this non-political, non-partisan campaign, but the youth and the youths-at-heart in general. John Tamayo, program officer for KMKP, an urban development non-governmental organization, says that this campaign of education should extend to the basic barangay units as well. "In barangay governance training, we suggest the discussion of issues of tax reform. Even in the smallest local government unit, corruption is readily evident, so this campaign should be continued within the communities, focusing of course on the youth who are our next generation."
And, judging from the response that the campaign is getting, it seems that young minds are starting to wake up and smell the stink. "Because this a non-militant campaign that crosses boundaries of political lines, it’s more attractive to the concerned youth who seem to be very interested and very eager to pitch in," says Lester Opice of the FEU YMCA. "People have told me, ‘tol, suicide yan,’" adds Jonathan. "People are so pessimistic about tackling corruption, but the thing is you have to start somewhere. It’s all the little things that add up." "And the first thing that we should do is stop accepting corruption as a way of life and start doing things, even little things, to counter it. Even as students, we have enough resources to start doing the job," says Joey Bilongilot of San Beda. "I’ve studied this issue for my thesis, and as a member of our school’s student council, I’m including education on corruption in our program of activities for the coming school year. There is also a tax reform bill soon to be set for hearing in Congress, and schools can send students to support it. This is a real opportunity for the youth to be involved without being ‘radical.’ After EDSA 2, awareness has been heightened, but there’s still that feeling of hopelessness. Walang Ku-corrupt consolidates idealism and optimism, and provides a venue for those who are sick of complaining and want do something constructive."
"The bottom line is that being in the know is the beginning of everything," concludes Nina Tan of the Artletts Economic Society of the University of Santo Tomas. "Be informed, be aware. Because corruption is not just about the money. The worst kind of corruption is the corruption of minds by politicians who use all these theories to manipulate and mislead the way people think. The only way to counter this is to know exactly what’s going on. And refuse to put up with it."
A generation is defined by its actions against the forces that challenge it. As I began to put away my notebook and pen, this particular generation asked me, technically still a member despite all the rallies and revolutions my now-jaded eyes had witnessed, what I felt about the challenge they were struggling against. A million responses crossed my mind: All the frustrations of working within the system where this "enemy" is a major player, all the little occasions when it seemed to be easier to go with the flow than stand up for what was right, all the helplessness and disappointment that accompany the realization that some things never change. I wanted to tell them that I too was once young and idealistic, that I too wanted to change the system, but that I too, like many others, had succumbed to that dangerous, indolent interval and allowed my visionary intentions to fester. But all I could manage at the time was a smile and a half-hearted attempt at jest. Days later, as I write this piece, I realize that these young people’s words and convictions were like a much-needed shot in the arm, especially after recently having looked upon the hideous countenance of their newest and most formidable foe, but this time, deciding not to stand for it. And right now all I want to tell them is that if this generation is going to define itself by smashing the ugly face of corruption to a bloody pulp, then I definitely would like to consider myself a part of it, "Ma’am" or not.