Ven Del Pilar Faundo
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Opinion
GRAFT AND CORRUPTION IN THE PHILIPPINES
Ven Del Pilar Faundo
Toronto, Canada
March 16, 2009
 
 
The prevailing graft and corruption in the Philippines should be blamed on World War ll hero, Gen. Douglas MacArthur, he of the “ I shall Return “ fame. After the conquest of Japan, the revered General gave the impetus and necessary assistance to the Japanese economy and industry to restart and reach the success of what it is enjoying now. However, MacArthur did one better. This act changed the face of Japan. After the surrender of Japan, Gen Douglas MacArthur, removed the power and influence of the ruling daimyos and influential hatamotos by distributing their landholdings to the peasantry.

In the Philippines, the opposite happened. The hacienderos amassed more wealth by getting compensated by the War Damage Commission created by the General to compensate for the real and mostly imagined losses during the war through their political influence and machinations. The ordinary Juan Dela Cruz meanwhile could not collect backpay because they lacked grease money and or connections to pursue their claims. The hacienderos obtained more guns and so were able to build some virtual armies. The moneyed hacienderos knew that in order to perpetuate their influence and power, they had to hold political positions in the government. When in office, most of them resort to evil, most foul but seemingly legal ways, to commit graft and corruption from the lowest rank to the highest position if not by themselves but by their kin and cronies.

It is true that MacArthur could not have done to the Philippine Hacienderos what he did to the ruling elite daimyos and the hatamotos of postwar Japan due to the different political situations of the two countries. Beside, the former was in the side of the victorious while the latter was the defeated one. But at least, the General could have been more strict and stringent on granting reward to the war damage claims of the hacienderos. He could have confiscated from the hacienderos the weapons accumulated during the war and could have restricted their buying of army surplus armament. Thus the power and influence of the hacienderos who are actually holdover Spanish time encomenderos have been enhanced . F. Sionil Jose a famous writer , has said “ colonialism is not dead but only took a different form “. The friars and Spanish officials were only replaced by the mestizos and encomederos aka hacienderos and the new moneyed class. Rizal family was not a true haciendero. They had a land to till which paid for Jose Rizal schooling in the Philipines and abroad but the land was only under lease from the corrupt Dominican friars who subjected his family to hardship, imprisonment and arbitrary increase in rent. Corruption in the ruling class that been decried and fought, wrote against in his Noli and Fili books and eventually died for by our national hero Jose Rizal, is still a social cancer pestering the Philippines. Rizal expressed some apprehension when he said “ What good is independence if the slaves of today are the tyrants of tomorrow “

Putting the blame on someone for the sorry present state of things, persons or countries, is frowned upon by most as a counterproductive exercise and rather too late for a solution to be found. What is there to be done then ? What then is the solution to the problem ? Firstly, acknowledge that there is a problem. Secondly, know what the problem is and what the root cause is. The root cause of the graft and corruption in the Philippines is the inappropriate and disproportional concentration of wealth and power on the hands of the hacienderos just like the pre world war ll Japan’s daimyos and hatamotos . Their power and influence come from their ownership of lots of land. The Philippine government can outMacArthur MacArthur by LAND APPROPRIATION through a TRUE LAND REFORM despite the opposition of the landed legislators ( as the likes of Claro M. Recto and Lorenzo Tanada who torpedoed the Land Reform Act in their times ). A true land reform entails provisions of helping any struggling new land owner farmer by way of easy to repay loan, availability of cheap fertilizers, and a provision of prohibiting of selling and or buying appropriated land in an unassailable form which can not be skirted and fooled with by unprincipled politicians and businessmen.

The government can enact this land reform but will surely face tough opposition from the hacienderos among the legislators. This may lead the people to resort to PEOPLE DEMONSTRATION No. 3 to emphasize that they are fed up with half measures and watered-down land reform that favours and caters more to the rich and powerful rather than the poor, vulnerable and downtrodden. 

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Click to enlarge image.
 
Author Ven Del Pilar Faundo
 
About the Author:

Full name is Venancio Del Pilar Faundo. Went to Hagonoy Elementary School, to San Jose Seminary for high school. Graduated with Bachelor of Science in Electrical engineering from Mapua in 1965 and passed board the same year.

Taught in Hagonoy Institue HighSchool and worked at US Naval Base in Design Div from 1967 till immigration to Canada in1976. Retired from Bombardier Aerospace in 2006.

Married to Winnie Pedagat and have three children. Hobby is bowling, golf and mahjong.

Present residence is Scarborough, Ontario, Canada.
 
 
Earlier Comments First

Rudy Espiritu
Mon 25th January 2010
Canada
 

more power to you,Ven'Plaridel'Faundo

 
The Author
Wed 18th March 2009
 

Thank you all for the comments. I'm glad my article touched a string, a subject dear to our hearts.

The twin evil Graft and Corruption existed prior to the time of MacArthur not only in 1935, but even in Rizal's time of the friars and Spanish colonizers. Some people claim the twin evil is not only systemic but also endemic to the Filipinos mostly in the ruling elite but I say no. It's universal. Some of the ruling elite such as Recto and Tanada who relented later in life, torpedoed the land reform act. M.L.Quezon stated that " I would rather have a country run like hell by Filipinos than a country run like heaven by Americans, because however bad a Filipino government might be, it can always be improved. " Little did he know, the hell became more than a reality and the promised improvement became only an empty hope. The ruling elite became richer and more powerful and the poor majority became poorer. Sen Avelino even said " What are we in power for. "

There had been lots of Republic Acts enacted such as RA 3844 and RA 6657 and Executive Order 456 to address Land Reform. There ws hardly any change in the existing relationship between landlords and the peasants-continued to be feudal in nature and land ownership remains concentrated in the ruling elite.

MacArthur did not eradicate Graft and Corruption in postwar Japan, he merely minimized the rootcause which was the daimyos and the hatamotos. There is still G&C in Japan but only not widespread and callously open like in the Philippines because the rootcause the overbearing landlords and the ruling elite are still rampant in the Philippines.

I reiterate MacArthur and the Americans did not create G&C in the Philippines but he could have given the Filipinos the same chance or semblance, to minimize G&C as he did in postwar Japan. We can still correct somehow his mistake. The Philippines still has hope through us, through you, through a change of heart of our ruling elite, through a truly sincere and enforceable peasant-friendly Land Reform, through the example of our national hero Dr. Jose P. Rizal who decried,wrote against G&C in Noli and Fili and died fighting against Graft and Coruption.

The Author
KCR lifetime member of OKOR

 
P. San Pedro
Tue 17th March 2009
Hayward, Ca. 94545
 

Graft and corruption in the Philippines is nothing new and is quite old. Blaming the past and blaming the past inept and incompetent or corrupt or both administrators, they are not leaders, (with exceptions of the the likes of Recto and Laurel, regardless of their misteps like the so-called Parity Rights Agreement, is escapism. This is not to suggest to ignore the tremendous and lasting damage the incompetents and corrupt administrators have wrought on the country and its suffering citizens, and the continuing incompetence and dishonesties of the recent and present administrators. No no not by any means. And to perpetuate the notion that the root cause of the present situation is, partly, due to McArthur and the unabated concentration of riches and corrupting power to the landholders and the government bureaucrats is too shallow an excuse. Too deep in the valley of squalor and dehumanizing poverty and gives credence to 'most corrupt nation in Asia' as widely reported and known all over. Most recent and present leaders and private captains of industry continue the practice and people allow it to continue -- the governors are no better than the governed and vice versa. The Filipino had a great chance to change when Mrs. Aquino took over but the citizenry allowed her to be taken advantage of by her more experienced 'peers' and the wheels of injustice, the grinding and vicious cycle of poverty, and of unchecked exploding population and all other factors combined to perpetuate the progressively deteriorating unspeakable conditions of our people. Our neighboring countries also suffered from not to dissimilar occupations but they managed to extricate themselves from the vagaries of the past and have become responsible and respected members of ASEAN and UN -- BUT NOT THE PHILIPPINES. We only need to look in the mirror and if we could only be honest to ourselves, the culprit is US. If we (those in the country) allow to accept what is not truly acceptable and if we do not cause to change what has been needed to change, the slide to deepening strait is inevitable. May God bless the Filipino and the Philippines.

 
Roberto "Obet" Dionisio
Mon 16th March 2009
Sydney, Australia
 

Dear Ven,

I salute you, my friend, for this very informative analysis of the roots of graft and corruption in the Philippines, despite the dissenting comments of JM Nepomuceno. Maybe, both of you are correct and complimenting each other's analysis.

More power to you, Ven. This is another added laurel on your penchant of providing us with your historical knowledge. We in our HES/HI email group are proud to have you as a friend. How I wish I could be that knowledgeable about Philippine History (I think I failed that in our class).

I look forward in reading more of your articles. Just keep me posted when is the next article coming out.

Your former classmates and friend,

OBET DIONISIO
Sydney, Australia

 
JM Nepomuceno
Mon 16th March 2009
National Capital Region, Philippines
 

Dear Mr. Faundo,

Your analysis of the history of graft and corruption is short by more than 10 years.

The systemic flaw started with the 1935 Philippine Constitution. The culprits were Manuel Quezon and all the political leaders at the time who masqueraded as "Filipino patriots", when in truth and in fact, they were all TRAITORS who betrayed the interests of the rest of the general population in the Philippine islands, for their own political and economic interests.

The "problem" may not be thrown at the door of the American Occupiers, for had it been the other way around, the same thing would have been attempted by Filipino Occupiers over the US mainland as colony. That is much the same way how Great Britain treated her colonies.

Filipino Citizens must face the real facts of history which have been twisted by the RULING ELITE, all these years. The cause of the systemic problems in the Philippines is nothing other than the RULING ELITE perpetrating tyranny and oppression of the majority of their own selfish interests.

With regard to the required systemic solution, check out the DISCUSSION FORUM of PHILIPPINE JUDICIAL REFORMS MOVEMENT at:

http://www.sphpglobal.ning.com/group
/philippinejudicialreformsmovement/forum


JM Nepomuceno
Interim Secretary General
PHILIPPINE JUDICIAL REFORMS MOVEMENT