Corruption has been with us since time immemorial. It’s just more scandalous now with the nepos flaunting the “wealth” of their families. Social media, which became their tool in the age of “influencers” to promote themselves and their lifestyles has literally opened Pandora’s box. Gullible followers provide them an engagement platform promoting their lifestyle.

It’s tiring to see the ordinary Filipino having to slave away to make ends meet. To beg for better healthcare. To suffer in the daily commute. To have to conquer flood waters and our lives being upended because someone was paid for ghost projects. To be slapped left and right with taxes that could have been avoided had the government been more mindful of abetting and sleeping with these corrupt vendors. Worst, we vote those who have clear conflicts of interest into office.

That problem has been with us for decades. Yet we continue to turn a blind eye each election. The rich, obviously will support those who will sustain their business. The poor, will vote for those who will provide them with dole-outs (ayuda). The very minor middle class will migrate to find greener pastures for their families.

To those left behind, the cycle will never end. It only worsens over time.

There is a need to press that reset button hard. But the damage is far too deep to mend. Too many people we’ve voted for working to keep their political survival afloat, they will simply whitewash this new fiasco.

Month after month we see a new “scandal” covering up a previous one. Where is Alice Guo? What happened to the Pharmally case? Where is the 89B of Philhealth that got diverted to the DoF? What happened to the cases filed against Sara Duterte when she was Secretary of Education? Why has Harry Roque not been extradited? And so on and so forth. What ever happened to these cases? Has justice been served? Was there closure?

Half the problem is our judicial system where those that have money are able to sustain high profile lawyers to delay justice. Justice delayed is justice denied.

And then there is mainstream media where some envelopmental journalists have joined the bandwagon of featuring what is wrong to justify it as a right perspective for the right price.

I am sure that these thieves who have stolen billions from the coffers of the nation will just quiet down for awhile (after all, they have stolen so much that even in their grandchildren’s lifetime, they have enough). And will come back with a different name, a different government official to bribe, and a different leadership to support.

They say Filipinos are a forgiving people. I refuse to believe that. They are forgetful.

We have the right to be angry. But that is all we can be. The question is – what are we going to do about it? Every election provides us the chance to take power away from every corrupt official. But it begins with every Filipino, rich or poor. Until we make our voices heard, this will never end. Our voices will never be heard. And we will always feed these parasites, acknowledging the culture of corruption is okay.