We will not be training here dragons that breath fire or actual crocodiles that can give you a death roll. They’re definitely dangerous. However, the crook politicians can actually be more dangerous than those reptiles, and they can be harder to train too. Truth be told, we cannot directly train those greedy people in the government as if they are our students and we are their sensei, but at least we can make an influence to teach them a lesson for lessening their monstrous behaviors and actions.
In fairness to the crooks in the wild, they can actually live for months without eating. They are not that greedy unlike the crooks in the government who don’t stop consuming our public fund for their own interest.
I’m sorry if this post may be harsh to our public officials. I believe there are still politicians and government officials in our country who have a good heart. But we cannot deny that many of our leaders and officials are committing graft and corruption. We cannot deny the sub-standard roads, bridges, school buildings, and other infrastructures built for the public out of our taxes. We cannot deny the poor services and facilities provided by our public hospitals and schools (of course not all). There are many solid evidences of the acts of corruption anywhere in the Philippines, and we can see them brighter than the light of the sun.
We, Filipinos, have the duty to protect our nation against the corrupt politicians. We have to tame the crooks in the government to guard our public fund and the future of our nation. So here are some things you can do to teach the political crooks a lesson in our quest to lessen their corrupt practices.
1. Make a wise vote. First and foremost, choose the best politicians. The less corrupt the politicians are, the easier you can influence them to do good. During elections, the voters are the employers while the candidates are the applicants. You have the power and authority to hire or reject them. So don’t sell your votes to the human crooks. If you do that, you’re just like an employer who hires a manager for your business because he paid you some money. Crazy, isn’t it?
2. Check their lifestyle. Don’t let the crooks and their relatives become spoiled brats and let them waste our tax money for their lavish lifestyle. Unless, of course, it’s their own money, we have no right to stop them from spending their decent earnings out of their own hard work. But for the crooks who are obviously corrupt, be vigilant on them. Check out their way of living. You can follow them and investigate their social media profiles, like Facebook and Instagram to see photos and videos that reflect their lifestyle.
3. Take a picture of their acts of “epalism” and post them on social media. They have to be reprimanded for being an “epal”. If you see any signage of public work projects that includes their names and faces in a manner that they are more conspicuous than the project, get your camera and take a photo of it. Then post them on social media to let them learn a lesson that “epalism” is a shame.
4. Evaluate their performance. The Filipino people are the bosses of the public officials. So as their boss, it’s your duty to regularly check and evaluate their performance. If they are senators and congressmen, check the number of meaningful laws that they have passed. Take note that legislation is their primary function. This way, they will be pressured to work harder to improve their output.
5. Don’t feed them with pork. Don’t let them have a pork barrel, whether they’re congressmen, senators, vice president or even the president. The pork barrel fund will only become a temptation that will entice the public officials to commit corruption. So feed them only with the fund that’s important in doing their function. For example, the legislators should only have fund that’s needed to do their job, that is, creating laws.
6. Show them true power. To warn the crook politicians, especially when they’re already abusing, show them people power. You cannot influence them if you are overpowered. So let them know who’s the real boss. You don’t need to resort in to violent street rallies. Use the power of technology. Create a petition through the Internet and let a lot of people sign it to show to them the true strength of people’s power. Try change.org.
7. Keep in touch with them. To train the crooks and teach them lessons, let them know that you are keeping an eye on them. Let them realize that you’re always there to review their deeds and warn them for their mistakes. Most public officials have social media accounts, like Facebook and Twitter. Hence, you can use these channels to always talk to them and evaluate their doings. Don’t be afraid to make a complain, especially if it’s the honest and the right thing to do.
Again, remember that the Philippines is a republic government. In other words, our country is governed by the people. The power is in the people. We only bestow authority to our public officials so they can manage our nation. We are the voters; we are their employers. We hold the power to govern our nation. Therefore, it is our duty to discipline the politicians whom we granted authority. We have to protect our country from the increasing number of crook politicians who are embezzling the wealth of our nation. We have to influence and control those crooks.
Do you have any other ideas on how to influence our public officials in order to reduce corruption in the Philippines? Don’t hesitate to share your thoughts and opinions. Remember… it’s your duty.
About Victorino Q. Abrugar
Vic promotes tourism-related businesses, brands and places. He's the marketing strategist of FAQ.PH. He believes that the key to success is to always do what to do next. Want to promote your business? Contact him at mail@optixor.com.
You miss a very important point, that is,
“Educate yourself. Learn to critically think so that you can formulate an objective opinion based on facts, well founded theories and unbiased views on circumstances that ubiquitously surround us.”
Thanks for the comment and for the additional insight Nixon. #1, making a wise vote, is actually about self-education. Corruption in the Philippines is actually a fact and not a fiction. 🙂 We’re hoping to have a part 2 of this post, and we’ll consider your point.
Thanks for considering. But let me qualify. When you have the knowledge how to get information, research and develop it, you have already passed a critical point. When you apply the information you have and apply it to practical circumstances and use it to good use, surely you can safely say that you are in a safe ground. When you are educated, you can think further from what the immediate consequences shows. You could also see beyond the intended purpose to the unintended one. This is extremely useful when we talk of Public Economics where the Social/Cultural, Political and Economics are intertwined that we can not almost differentiate where their boundaries lie.
8. Transparency. All projects from bidding to implementation must be posted in public places so that people will see how the projects are undertaken. This is one of my little contribution.