Graft and corruption, and everything else depressing

I attended a press conference of Panfilo Lacson last Friday and in it the reelectionist senator went into a favorite spiel about graft and corruption and how it was proving to be the single most pernicious impediment to national growth.

Perhaps spurred by his well-known advocacy, those in attendance mostly asked questions related to this favorite subject, and Lacson willingly obliged by retailing juicy tidbits and inside info about how graft and corruption has seized the heart of the bureaucracy.

It is not an exaggeration to say that almost the entire presscon was dominated by the subject of graft and corruption, so that toward the end I asked Lacson if there was nothing rosier that we can talk about except such a depressing subject.

Lacson laughed and said sorry but that is just the way it is. And yes, that is just the way it is. There is almost nothing to talk about regarding the Philippines without the subject of graft and corruption and everything else depressing not lurking in there, ready to pounce.

I would have wanted to ask Lacson, as well as Jess Paredes, an independent candidate for senator whom Lacson is trying to help on account of their being former military buddies, where anyone can ever begin to start cleaning up the mess.

But I held my piece because that would entail a fresh round of discussions that would only prolong the presscon much further that anybody would care, least of all Lacson who I learned had an appointment with Cebu Archbishop Ricardo Cardinal Vidal.

And it did not really matter if the question burning in my mind about where anybody could start to clean up the mess went unanswered. I do not think any living politician or aspiring government official today would have the answer to that one.

It is a question that has no answer. Even well-meaning officials, which Lacson and Paredes profess themselves to be, will never be able to give an answer that is both plausible and practical.

The Philippines is so shot with problems there is never any one-shot cleansing process for this country. It has to be a well-coordinated series of efforts done together by everyone, and we know that that simply could not be done.

To be sure, there are idealistic politicians both on the national and local levels who are willing to give reformist policies and programs a shot, but I doubt if their numbers are sufficient enough to make a difference.

Besides, the problems are so deeply rooted in the fabric of Philippine social life that I also doubt if even a good number of idealistic officials do manage to come up with significant numbers whether they can sustain the momentum of any successful house-cleaning effort.

The Philippine mess needs a good number of cleaners, sufficient time to do the cleaning, and enough encouragement and incentive to carry on the process without faltering. Any initiative short of this is doomed to fail.

Of course we should recognize those who are willing to give it their best shot even if they are undermanned and come ill-equipped. We salute their willingness to try. At least with their presence, we do not offer a clean slate to the Devil.

I would have also wanted to ask Lacson if there was anything he can do to help along the process of mass migration for Filipinos, which I believe is the other option to staying behind in the sinking ship. But I did not want to add anything more somber to the discussion.