Are we all corrupt?

MANILA
The mind-boggling revelations about wholesale theft of the Filipino people’s money through scams have given us all a clearer picture of how extensive the plunder has been.
And the thought that the alleged Napoles scams are just the tip of the iceberg, that there are still other operations at work in stealing public money, makes it simply breathtaking.
Everybody is up in arms, crying for blood, not only that of Janet Napoles, the alleged mastermind of the pork barrel scam, but also of the public officials who are said to have partaken in the massive taking of our money. Public rally after rally has been mounted so people could vent their anger.
Now we know how greedy and venal many of our government officials are. We Filipinos have always known that our public “servants” have been skimming off the top of government revenues. Else, how could many of our officials afford to own lavish houses and fancy cars and live ostentatiously?
But we didn’t know about the vast conspiracy among alleged operators like Napoles and government officials in amassing scandalously large amounts of plundered money.
We knew that contractors working on government projects cheated on materials so they could pay off the officials who got them their contracts. And we knew that local officials put together utterly unnecessary projects just so they could make illegal money off of those projects. Such ill-gotten money now seems peanuts compared to the pork barrel loot.
We certainly didn’t know that the likes of Napoles have created their own money machines that spewed money like it was going out of style. They grabbed as much as they could while the grabbing was good.
So we know about the massive theft of the people’s money. And we haven’t stopped cursing Napoles and her accomplices in government. We call them corrupt, thieves and other ugly names.
But are the people in government the only corrupt ones in out midst? When we call them corrupt, greedy and conscienceless, are we sure in our hearts that we would not be doing the same, helping ourselves to the people’s wealth, if we had been in their shoes? Are we really straight or are we being hypocritical because we haven’t been in a position to also steal if we could?
I’ve often wondered, even before the Napoles expose, if I could withstand the temptation of corruption if I were in government.
My answer is that I know I would be tempted. As the saying goes: every dog has its price. But will I give in to the temptation? That is the apt question, not whether one would be tempted. I know that I will resist mightily and take refuge in the wise words of my parents that it’s better to be poor than be rich with stolen wealth.
Temptation will always be lurking around. And it would be easy to succumb. Because, as someone said, the devil always comes in a pleasing shape. And, to paraphrase the Good Book, both the spirit and the flesh are weak.
So can we who are now taking to task the venal among our public officials say that we will never succumb to the temptation of easy money? Or are we able to say this only because the devil hasn’t paid us a visit?
The trick is to stay as far away from temptation as possible.
And many of us do successfully. There are many, many Filipinos who live simply and within their means, eschewing luxury and unnecessary possessions so they won’t have to steal to finance high living. There are many professionals, much more qualified than the politicians we now have, who choose to not go into politics because they know politics is not only for the thick-skinned but also for the crooked.
Even those who project themselves as decent politicians aren’t so clean. They act as statesmen, learned and inspired only by all that is good. But they also genuflect before the altar of expediency and unbridled greed. The sky’s the limit, especially when the people haven’t the foggiest notion that their scarce finances are being pocketed by those in power.
Their game is I won’t tell if you won’t. Theirs is a cabal or club of looters who help themselves to the people’s wealth. And then they act surprised and innocent when they’re caught with their hand in the money jar.
I have a sneaking suspicion that many of us too would be stealing if we had the chance. Maybe we’re mad at Napoles and the thieves in government only because we’re in no position to also steal. I would not be surprised if there are millions out there who have a grudging admiration for Napoles and all the officials who live in expensive homes and drive around in impressive cars just because they are able to tap into the money machines installed by the scam operators. They’ve made ATMs look like mere gumball machines.
The more appropriate question then is, are we all corruptible? We’ve all heard of news involving Filipinos in all kinds of swindles, whether its credit-card or insurance fraud, bank officers helping themselves to their clients’ hard-earned savings or investments, operators involved in various manner of estafa, etc.
Is corruption in our blood? If so, is this part and parcel of the “damaged culture” American writer James Fallows claimed to have noticed in us?
Are we then being hypocrites with all our gnashing of the teeth and pulling of the hair over the pork scam? It’s not an idle question. ****