“Government is a reflection of society, and society is not a static organism,” wrote Teodoro M. Kalaw in his daily page “El Dieterio Espirtual” in La Vanguardia in 1 September 1926. Kalaw talked about public service which can be static and becoming just a rote activity. He called daily routine as a killer that turns into and is embedded in a system. But the historian and masonic scholar reflected that society is dynamic and thus government ought to be dynamic as well.
If government is a mirror of society where we can peek into its intricacies, and that society is dynamic, then we must be seeing a dynamic government. True to the premise, the present Philippine government is a reflection of the culture of the people that composed society with all its inner dynamism.
Judging on the most recent national issue on the case of World Bank debarring 3 Filipino-owned construction firms due to collusive practices and bid rigging – and that the Department of Public Works and Highways when performing an investigation cleared the delisted companies – I am tempted to conclude that the government protects and condones fraud and corruption.
Corruption in government is massive – and that corrupt practices are done by both public and private individuals. Public officials involved in corruption are more visible that their private counterparts. This is so true, for example, in government offices where private citizens bribe government employees. Corruption is done by both the one who bribes and the one who accepts the bribe.
We criticize and accuse the government of corrupt practices but most of us failed to look at ourselves that we are also guilty of corruption. And that if we remain silent even if we know that corruption is going on in government agencies we are still guilty of approving condemnable practices.
If the government is corrupt, and that government is a reflection of society, then society in general should be redressed. Fighting against corruption is a collective effort, this is not just a task of elective government officials who entice the populace of anti-corruption programs. Fighting against corruption is not just a task of funding agencies such as the World Bank. Fighting corruption is the task of all of us – the public.
When corruption in government becomes a routine practice, it is because society in general routinely condone corruption. When we do nothing, then who else will work but the evil to continue to ruin society. If we allow our selves to remain static and not doing anything, then our government will also remain static. Only corruption will remain dynamic.