THE POINT OF awakening has come. At long last, the Filipino people have seen corruption not as an abstract evil, not as a distant crime whispered in congressional hallways, but as floodwaters seeping into their homes, as collapsed buildings burying their loved ones, as broken roads and bridges cutting their towns in half, as schools without classrooms, as hospitals without medicines. Corruption now has a face. It is not some faceless official pocketing kickbacks; it is the mud in our streets, the ruin in our lives.
And so, rightly, the people are outraged. We demand accountability.
BRAZENNESS IS BOUNDLESS
But here lies the tragedy: even as the flood-control scandals occupy the headlines, the same sordid corruption thrives in every other agency, shameless and unrepentant. BIR officers are still caught extorting money from small businesses. Land Transportation employees continue to demand grease money from ordinary drivers. Kotong cops still ply their trade along the highways.
Bureau of Fire officials still demand bribes in exchange for positions. In jails, food for inmates is still shaved off to feed personnel. The list is endless, and the brazenness is boundless.
While we rage at flood-control scandals, the corrupt elsewhere simply smirk, emboldened by the spotlight shining away from them. They know the public anger is narrow, episodic, easily distracted. They carry on, business as usual.
Yet not everyone in government is corrupt.
NOW IS YOUR MOMENT
Many employees are competent, committed, bleeding silently as their names are stained by the crimes of others. They were afraid before. They kept their heads down, silenced by the threat of reprisal. But now, the tide has turned. They have behind them not just their consciences but the outrage of the Filipino people.
And so the challenge: to every head of every government agency, now is your moment.
Use this outrage, harness this momentum, and launch a campaign that is not token, not ceremonial, but real. Clean your own house. Don’t wait for the Ombudsman or the ICI or Malacañang to act. Do not outsource integrity.
Build programs that bite. Establish integrity training programs that not only identify but also monitor corrupt practices. Create early-warning systems to spot those drifting into temptation and remove them before they metastasize.
Protect whistleblowers with ironclad guarantees so they need not fear retaliation. And most of all, lead by example. Integrity is not taught by lectures but by lives lived in the open.
This is not theory. There are anti-corruption models that work. Hong Kong’s Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) broke a culture of systemic bribery by combining strict enforcement, citizen engagement, and public education. Indonesia’s Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) proved how even the mighty can be humbled if investigative bodies are empowered and protected from politics. The Philippines can adapt these lessons. An independent anti-corruption body is vital, yes—but just as vital is the cleansing from within: every agency reclaiming the dignity of its office, every profession reclaiming its honor.
KICK OUT THE CORRUPT
To the honest people in government: unite. Reformers who have long been forced into silence, step forward. This is your time. Speak in your own backyards, in your own hallways, in your own agencies. Kick out the corrupt.
Because corruption does not fall like rain. It is planted, watered, and harvested by people. And it can be uprooted by people.
The Filipino people have finally seen corruption for what it is: the rot that weakens every bridge, the crack that splits every school wall, the leak that drowns every household. The people are angry. And this anger, if seized and shaped, can cleanse.
Heads of agencies, the call is clear: cleanse your ranks. Reclaim your honor. Stand with the Filipino people.