Robinhood

                        

I was browsing books at Kinokuniya earlier when I chanced upon this quote and suddenly, a part of my DTTB (Doctors to the Barrios) experiences came in a flash. At the time, I had a grasp at how politics is being played not only in my home province but in the whole country as well. I was able to answer some questions on the root cause of our country's corruption and consequent poverty. I found out that it is a mutual give-and-take relationship between the elected leaders and the voters. 

I remember one afternoon when I was backriding a motorcycle driven by a barangay captain in the municipality I served, we were on our way to his barangay to see a patient. Our ride was relatively smooth, thanks to the tire paths (see photo below) carpeting the narrow barrio roads. The captain was telling me how grateful he is to the local chief executive for constructing those tire paths making the transportation to and fro the far-flung barangay easier for his constituents. 

TIRE PATHS. Basically, two narrow concrete roads constructed to fit only the tires of vehicles. This is one of the PAMANA projects of the DSWD. I took this photo when my staff and I were on a convoy to one of the barangays. 

As far as I know, all the developments in that municipality, including the tire paths, are government projects through different agencies such as the DSWD, DA, DILG and DOH. None comes from the personal budget of the local chief executive. And yet, the community people think of it as personal projects of the LCE. I do not undermine the gratitude of the community people, of course we have to consider that without the consent and cooperation of the LCE, none of those projects would materialize. When I was there, I was also beyond grateful for the warm welcome and the kindness that the LCE and his family have shown me and my staff. But I also believe that they should not entirely own up to the developments, in fact, it is something that they OWE to their constituents, and the latter must also understand that being taxpayers (well, only a handful of them) they deserve each and every project in the municipality that alleviates their living condition such as concrete roads (which they majorly lack), educational reinforcement, agricultural/livelihood help, and health support and monitoring.

I have observed that, generally, in the fifth/sixth municipalities (poorest of the poor), most of the constituents rely solely (or shall I say, beg?) from the local chief executive. This starts during the election period where vote buying is not a secret to keep in our country. It is illegal but majority does it. We live in an era where a "clean intention to serve" neither qualifications matter. Money matters. This is where the give-and-take relationship I mentioned starts. The higher amount you give to the voters, the more chance you will get of being elected to the position you're vying. After election, the politician's financial resources is depleted and he now relies on the IRA and other government projects to "save up" again for the next election. Infrastructure and other major developments are compromised in this practice. Since services lack in the municipality, the constituents practically beg to the LCE for personal financial help. This is where the feeling of "helping the people" commences, and the constituents are largely "grateful" to the LCE for the help extended to them. Robinhood, eh?     

Basically, our nation's problem in corruption and poverty is a two-way process. We cannot isolate the politicians as blameworthy, if we have accepted their money when we voted for them, then we are their accomplices. We chose them, therefore, we must endure.

As the national elections come to a close, I fervently pray to God for enlightenment as we vote for those who are capable of leading us to progress and prosperity sans the sugar-coated words and "charitable deeds" while obviously stealing from the taxpayers' money for his personal gain. May God spare us from hypocrisy and following blindly. Ameen.