In perpetual crisis

By Eireen Manikan

Iloilo City was made more famous recently but for the wrong reasons, unfortunately.  I am sure most of you heard or read about the graft cases filed by DSWD to some barangay officials and City Hall-affiliated individuals over alleged irregularities in the distribution of the Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situation (AICS) program. It was told that there were complainants who issued affidavits stating that the amount intended for them was P10,000 but these officials allegedly ask for P8,000 back leaving them with only P2,000 in actuality.

The irony of the story is so amusing I do not know if I ought to laugh or cry. For so many reasons. And so many questions keep hovering in my mind like a drunken bee to honey:

1. The recipients are supposedly people in crisis. They are those who have suffered mental anguish and financial challenges hence they were chosen, why then would the barangay officials rip them off with money meant to alleviate their suffering?
2. What thought process do these officials have in thinking that they have every right to get money that is not theirs? They are no better than street thugs or hold uppers in that case except they don’t threaten with a gun. They threaten with the power they wield in the community where the victim resides. (Which is worse than a gun but would take a longer discussion)
3. If this daylight robbery is happening in various barangays and not some isolated case, is this part of a bigger orchestration than has a more powerful official/s involved? What does it speak of the community in general? Of the primary leadership in the locality?
4. Some prominent individuals in the community try to downplay it by saying “It happens all over, not just here.” Or “There are worse forms of rips-offs like the flood control for one.” When did we begin to excuse crime? Theft? Abuse of authority? I can state at least 3 clichés with this kind of thinking. (1. Just because everyone is doing it doesn’t mean it is right. 2. Accountability is a mark of integrity. 3. Never excuse bad behavior)
5. For the other victims, who are already victims of one tragedy or another, who have yet to complain: I feel you. Who wants to complicate life by going up against “powerful” people who can make your lives miserable? Why do we take this s*** and allow them to continue with their shameful behavior? Why would we rather suffer in silence and give them reason to victimize more people than try to stop them once and for all?

Of all the kinds of crises described here, there is one that scarily shouts to me. We are in deep crisis when it comes to upholding the fundamental values that we used to hold dear and what used to be non-negotiables. We now have low-key reactions in acts that used to make us livid and go to the streets. We have become tolerant of unscrupulous individuals and even make them community leaders.

We should not just be mourning the plight of those claimants in crisis, when we are facing a more dangerous one: the future of the young who look up to these very people who have an integrity and credibility crisis.