Glimmer of hope in Philippine politics

Last week was an eventful time for many ongoing political issues that have been distracting/affecting Filipinos in the country and many parts of the world. The International Criminal Court confirmed the charges against former president Duterte on crimes against humanity. Then, in the congressional determination of probable cause for the impeachment of VP Sara Duterte, compelling witnesses/documents were presented, and then former congressman Zaldy Co, alleged mastermind in the DPWH corruption scandal, was detained in Prague after crossing illegally from Germany. Also in the same week, former speaker Romualdez had to issue a video press statement denying the accusations of his involvement in the budget insertions in the DPWH infra budget, and that he will not be the fall guy in this trillion-peso scandal. In this same timeline and the same scandal, in the court trial of former senator Bong Revilla, testimonies of the delivery of suitcases of cash to Revilla, Jinggoy Estrada, and Bonoan were presented.

The main and social media were ablaze with reactions to these events, with the Duterte and the BBM camps flooding the print, airwaves and cyberspace with attacks and defensive opinions. There were also a lot of somber comments from unbiased sources, that at least things are moving in the right direction politically and morally, especially that the 2028 elections are forthcoming. Majority of Filipinos who will elect the next president would just be happy if these developments will lead to conviction of the guilty, and recovery of plundered resources. That it will make government officials more accountable for their actions and refrain from excessive corruption, are the hopes of Filipinos.

There’s a glimmer of hope in Philippine politics. We would never have imagined that Duterte would be arrested and brought to The Hague, or that VP Sara would be facing an impeachment complaint. It would also be far from our minds that Co would be on the run, or that Revilla together with DPWH officials would be arrested. It would even be farthest from our thoughts that Romualdez, Ombudsman Martires, Sen. Escudero and officials in the executive secretary’s office would be implicated in the scandal, and/or that the fairytale world of the Discayas would end. Nobody could have foreseen the hundreds of millions in cash, luxury cars, and other assets that we saw turned over to the government. These are blessings that give us a glimmer of hope in Philippine politics and society.

The next thing we Filipinos should hope and pray for is that these recent events will lead to its rightful conclusions, and will be lessons for all politicians and government officials. Actually, since the DPWH scandal was exposed and investigation/prosecution started, the level of corruption has reduced. Rumors have it that the kickbacks/SOPs have gone down to the 20% to 10%, and the brazen demands from politicians have diminished. While Baguio Mayor Magalong would be appeased with these developments, the suffering Filipinos in the middle- and lower-income classes would still be aggrieved, as the salary levels of government employees have reached equal to or above private sector salaries. Majority of government officials and employees are honest, service-oriented, and live within their means, but some are ostentatiously corrupt, and that ruins the majority’s reputation.

The recent defeat of Hungary’s Prime Minister Orban after 16 years in power should be a lesson to Filipino politicians and Philippine politics. Autocratic policies and corruption also hounded the years of Orban, with insinuations of relatives/cronies taking sizable kickbacks on overpriced projects. The Hungarians delivered a judgment and the Filipinos will have to do the same thing in the coming elections, by electing deserving candidates to the right public offices. So, help us God.