THE coming barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) elections should be an opportunity to check and stamp out corruption at the community level. Perhaps due to what they’ve seen during regular elections, youth leaders and their followers in Metro Manila have started taking the same path. Most of us are aware — if not witnesses — of the rampant malpractice during barangay elections.
During the local elections a few years ago, the husband of a mayoralty candidate in a Bulacan city became guilt-ridden after their campaign staff of youth volunteers was used in objectionable election activities to win votes. He had to call a special meeting with them to rationalize their actions and apologize.
‘Politics marked with corruption has caused moral decay in countless barangays, notably during elections.’
There is no social or cultural justification for the youth to conduct their own political activity amid an environment of bribery, political harassment and dynastic ends. Through the years, barangay elections have led to widespread corruption in countless communities and tragically infected the youth sector.
Politics marked with corruption has caused moral decay in countless barangays, notably during elections. Democracy has indeed turned out to be a kind of demo-crazy at the barangay level.
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Numerous depressed communities in Isabela have written Senate President Miguel Zubiri and Senators Francis Tolentino, Ronald dela Rosa, Raffy Tulfo, Imee Marcos, Joel Villanueva and Robin Padilla appealing for a Senate probe on what they said was rampant corruption involving high-ranking officials of the province.
Only Padilla responded to their letter, assuring them that he will endorse the request to Tolentino, who chairs the Blue-Ribbon Committee which has jurisdiction over cases of corruption by government officials and employees.
Nothing has been heard since then from the senators and the very disappointed residents of Isabela could only suspect the immensely powerful tentacles of a prominent family as behind the senators’ failure to do their jobs.
Former Angadanan, Isabela Mayor Manuel “Noli” Siquian has been leading a determined movement to expose the huge corruption scandals in the province. He has filed several cases before the Ombudsman on the alleged overpricing of hundreds of millions of pesos of government projects, as well as the alleged illegal diversion of more than P2 billion in government funds.
