How subcontractors and government projects work ordinarily

I had a privileged time to learn from someone whose way of living is creating public and private projects as a subcontractor, or subcon for short. What he shared to me was at first encouraging to hear since it emphasized how he went from rags to riches. He sounded so motivational that I was so inspired to ask him more questions. Who knows, I'll become rich like him.

This acquaintance advised me that in sales or business I should invest in good relationships with people. Good business most of the time comes from finding the right people, he said. This man said that a big percentage of his cash flow comes from his farm in Mindanao, while at least he has side income in Cebu as a subcontractor. As a salesperson who is curious how the hell rich people grow richer and poor people become poorer, I ask him how he did things that made him rich. He replied that business is also a game that requires practical skills and knowledge. The man told me that in order to boom in business, I have to go where the trend goes. One of the known trends he shared is corruption. Where can you find the most evil and corrupt individuals in society? he asked. Politicians. These elected government leaders take most of our money, and I have to go with them to take mine in the name of business. He said this like he doesn't like corruption but wants it at the same time. He continued that the game of the business includes with the proposal project and the budget, right suppliers for materials, and then the right politicians who understand the game. Though the payment is most of the time given late, somehow, the grand prize is worth the wait.

Senator Cynthia Villar pointed out this kind of corruption when she questioned Sen. Risa Hontiveros and the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development's proposal to establish condominium units: “Why will you insist on building condominiums, dahil kikita ka sa contractor ng condominium?” Sen. Cynthia Villar may seem with a little advantage by having been able to throw the question first, but this kind of corruption in the form of cuts is true to many politicians with their projects. The question here is not whether this is good or bad but why this kind of corruption is becoming ordinary. Why is kickback becoming a game plan for most politicians? Subcontractors are becoming wiser by supporting and building good relationships with politicians. Imagine how free they are to create projects without licenses. Imagine the taxes paid by Filipinos come and go in the hands of these business partners.

The more corruption becomes natural and ordinary, the more Filipino people believe that there is no solution to this. If the Philippines becomes like other countries, which has the widest gap between the rich and the poor, imagine what kind of social tension there would be in the near future. The rich people don't care because other than having properties bought in the other countries, they are already working on their foreign citizenship in case the worst scenario may happen in the country.

I don’t hate this acquaintance of mine for sharing to me about his business. I just don’t like how it works. I’m afraid people like him think of success and fairness in a relative way. Well, thanks to him, I came up with this idea and wrote it here.

Ernesto Kigai

Mandaue City