Showing posts with label morality. Show all posts
Showing posts with label morality. Show all posts

PostHeaderIcon Cosmetic surgeon loses license resulting from sex-tape scandal

11/25/2009 | Posted by Anonymous | Edit Post


Dr. Hayden Kho, the infamous cosmetic surgeon of the Belo Medical Group involved in the blistering sex scandal with movie starlet Katrina Halili, Dr. Vicki Belo, and other women was stripped of his license to practice medicine on November 20, 2009 by the Professional Regulations Commission (PRC).

The basis for the license revocation stemmed from the young doctor's poor judgment of videotaping his sexual relation with Halili and showing the intimate footage in You Tube for the public to see. The PRC ruled that Kho’s action was immoral and dishonorable.

The medical license revocation prompted Kho’s legal counsel to file for a motion of reconsideration before the decision to prevent him from practicing his profession becomes final. Representing her client, lawyer Lorna Kapunan said the surgeon’s punishment was “too harsh and unfair.”

Obviously, the PRC's decision on Kho's case reflects the standard of morality of the professional regulating body. The humiliation which comes from this sex scandal is a shameful example from which doctors and other professionals can learn from. (Photo Credit: Philstar) =0=

RELATED BLOGS: "As the Kho-Halili sex scandal is investigated, obscene video sells briskly in the sidewalk " Posted by mesiamd at 5/29/2009; "Dr. Vicki Belo: a lesson on cosmetic surgery, sex, & "quackery"?" Posted by mesiamd at 11/07/2009

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PostHeaderIcon Transparency for RP, but not for GMA’s unexplained wealth?

8/13/2009 | Posted by Anonymous | Edit Post


After splurging in lavish dinners with her entourage abroad that had price tags close to $15,000 to $20,000(P750,000-1,000,000,) Pres. Gloria Arroyo’s assets an liabilities have been under close scrutiny.

The Philippine Center of Investigative Journalism (PCIJ) say since her assumption of office, the president has accumulated properties 2000x than their original value. In spite of the over-hyped call for honesty and transparency by the administration, the lawyers of GMA and her husband, Jose Miguel Arroyo, don’t see the need to explain how the couple amassed such wealth. But obviously, the people want to know.

Corruption is the centerpiece of why the Philippines is mired in poverty, but even the president fails to follow the leads to know the extent government corruption! The public sees a collusion by the leadership to keep the status quo of defrauding the country. The “scratch my back, and I’ll scratch your back culture” is at work here----so almost no one gets caught; the few who are proven thieves are pardoned.

“A report by the PCIJ said Mrs. Arroyo’s declared net worth more than doubled from P66.8 million in 2001 to P143.54 million in 2008. The increase of P76.74 million represents a growth rate of 114 percent. If her SALNs were plotted from the time she was still senator 17 years ago, the rise in her wealth would have been 2,000 percent, according to PCIJ.”-----Philstar (08/13/09)

This questionable rise in assets of a politician in power is not uncommon. The accusations of theft, corruption, fraud, and abuse in government are pervasive even if there are laws that can be used to get into the bottom of the truth. It dates back since Marcos time whose descendants are inching for a come-back, hiding under the rug the outrageous graft and corruption of their parents.

In spite of calls for President Arroyo to comply on the Republic Act 6713 or the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees which when violated is punishable by imprisonment, fines, dismissal or suspension, just like any slicky politician, GMA allows the foul odor in her record to pester. It’s a common reaction of corrupt politicians to pretend nothing odiously bad is going on.

Arroyo’s discordant lifestyle and wealth are incompatible to her salary as president. She receives a measly Php 60,000.00 (about USD 1,333.33 at Php 45.00 to 1 USD exchange rate) monthly. The US president’s salary at about $400,000/year is about 3,000% higher. Therefore, there is always a good reason to compute and recompute how GMA came up with her assets in so short a time. Obviously, this goes true with other politicians who dodge showing the money trail of their wealth.

GMA's business interests, if laid bare are not hard audit. If there is any, let investigators see where the conflict of interest lies, which transactions she did in accord with the law or where fraud occurre which may explain why she and her friends have become so rich.

The stonewalling by the president and her husband to conceal the truth has caused despair and loss of credibility; it makes her a pariah of the people. At the waning days of her presidency come along, her job approval is poor---among the lowest a president ever received in tenure.

The furor resulting from her extravagance abroad and clever machinations is deplorable and very much compatible with corruption. It's contemptible. There is obvious failure of the checks and balances in the system. It’s time that Arroyo comes clean from the disgusting accusations which plague her leadership. (Photo Credit: sunnexfo) =0=

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PostHeaderIcon Breach of trust in medical practice: perfume canister incident, MD’s sexual escapades & GMA's breast implant repair

7/15/2009 | Posted by Anonymous | Edit Post
A Sick Child Brought into the Temple of Aesculapius
Oil on canvas, c.1877 by John William Waterhouse (1849-1917)



We have learned a whole lot of errors in the medical profession. Once we read of the hideous perfume canister incident that was videotaped by doctors and nurses in Cebu to humiliate a suffering patient with a foreign body in his butt. Then we heard of that poorly trained plastic surgeon who brandished his bedtime sexual escapades with movie starlets in the You Tube, shocking the entire medical community. Now we have no less than the medical records of Pres. Gloria M. Arroyo (GMA) being pilfered and exposed by unauthorized personnel in the Asian Hospital.

All these are worrisome and paint a picture of an awful trend which tells that the privacy and ethics of the medical profession must be guarded and respected. Pres. Arroyo isn’t so popular, but there is no reason for anyone to break into her privacy. It is embarrassing to learn that in the Philippines, confidential data of the president’s health is easily laid bare by people who have nothing to do with her treatment.

If it were true that a certain Dr. Maria Niza Bermudez-Reyes, a resident trainee in OB-Gyn of Asian Center instructed three medical staff to access Arroyo’s records for reasons outside her line of duty, she violated professional confidentiality.

It could have been tempting and salacious for others like her to know if indeed, Arroyo had breast augmentation and implants decades ago. It could be a source of loose talk if they had them repaired in a hospital in Manila. Information like this could be leaked to make fun, humiliate, and extort money from anyone including the president.

But wherever the truth rests in this alleged violation of patient trust, a stronger safeguard to keep-out unqualified medical personnel must be done. Any wrong-doing must be meted with apt punishment. With the growing use of computers to keep medical records, one can imagine how fast data can travel on the wrong hands.

On the ethical and moral side, healthcare workers must be doubly conscious of the duty they have for those who seek their help and confidence. They have to remember, they too will one day be patients. (Photo Credit: www.mlahanas.de) =0=

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PostHeaderIcon Foursome kinky sex: Calvin Klein’s raunchy ad stirs protests

6/19/2009 | Posted by Anonymous | Edit Post


In New York’s Soho district where thousands pass by everyday, Calvin Klein compnay has put up a 50-foot billboard advertising. Two young men, a woman and another man are in explicit pose with strong sexual undertones illumined high above the street.

Semi-nude man and woman are shown kissing. Another man is embracing. With navel exposed and a flat abdomen heaving, a confused guy undresses to the verge of the mon pubis----something that corporate business brings to sell blue jeans fast.

But many people aren’t happy. Parents are bothered by the racy poster which shows the disturbing unnatural sexual message to children. Even if others justify the risqué billboard claiming that “obscenity is on the eyes of the beholder,” Randy Sharp, the director of special projects for the American Family Association, vehemently protests with many others:

"Not only the billboard, but a company -- a corporate giant in America -- feels it appropriate to put a semi-nude photograph in a major billboard in a high-traffic area where tens of thousands of children see this kind of activity going on... If it were going on in the back of a parking lot with steamed windows, they would be arrested, and yet they broadcast it to a whole city."----ABC News (06/17/09, Donaldson James, S)

With liberalism all around, this is the kind of lewd advertising people get. There are reasons to be concerned and concerned citizens are justified to voice their displeasure.

That’s why members of the organization who find the ad disgusting have flooded the Calvin Klein Co. with thousands of email complaints against the sexualized billboard. It’s something the jean company wants---- Perhaps, to foment cultural and moral discord in pursuit of that attention which brings sales in the cash register. Photo Credit: stylelist/ Maggie Coughlan/ AOL) =0=

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PostHeaderIcon Doctor slay sparks new debate on abortion

6/02/2009 | Posted by Anonymous | Edit Post


If you support late term abortion----termination of pregnancy beyond the time of fetal viability, you’ll probably hail Dr. George Tiller of Wichita, Kansas as a hero. A reproductive health provider, he helped desperate women get abortions at a time when few doctors would agree of the terminations.

The controversial doctor who reportedly aborted as many as 60,000 fetuses under strict medical guideline during his career was gunned down while attending the Sunday morning church services in Wichita Reformation Lutheran Church on May 31, 2009.

The suspected killer in custody is Scott P. Roeder, a 51 year-old native of Merriam Kansas, an ardent opponent of abortion. It is unclear if the alleged gunman acted alone or in cahoots with an anti-abortion group.

“Tiller was a rallying symbol for both sides. The 67-year-old physician's clinic was bombed in 1985, and he was shot in both arms in 1993. He was acquitted of criminal charges in March related to performing late-term abortions. Abortion rights supporters praised his work."---McClatchy Newspapers (06/01/09, Goldstein, D.)

If you are against abortion, the slaying of Dr. Tiller marks the end of a baby killer who profited huge sums of money for performing termination of unwanted pregnancies. Millions of innocent fetuses are killed in utero for varying justifications in USA and the death of the physician may be looked upon by anti-abortion proponents as a “murder of a murderer.”

Yet, for most of us, Dr. Tiller and his killer’s fate must not end senselessly as this. The gruesome killing shows an apparent rush to get justice at the expense of the law. Such an unfortunate incident is likely to be exploited by groups to advance their views in such a contentious subject.

While a fraction of Americans believe that the doctor has provided needed medical services and helped women under difficult circumstances by performing abortion, as many as more than 2/3 (72%) of US citizens are against the termination of babies during the last phase of pregnancy.

In the backdrop of citizens asserting their pro-choice stance in support of abortion, the arguments against the killing of the unborn don’t only transcend cultural tradition, but contradicts religious beliefs as well. Since the news of Dr. Tiller's death, criticisms and threats of backlash are hurled in all sides of the issue which make us ask again:

"Can't we get along?" "Will we not respect the life of the defenseless babies because we are stronger than them?" "If we are the fetuses to be aborted, will we allow the procedure of babaric baby death?" (Photo Credit: AP/ Charles Riedel) =0=

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PostHeaderIcon As the Kho-Halili sex scandal is investigated, obscene video sells briskly in the sidewalk

5/29/2009 | Posted by Anonymous | Edit Post


For those who follow the Kho-Halili sex video scandal, the senate investigation for the purpose of “legislation” brings more questions than answers. Instead of truth coming out from Dr. Hayden Kho and starlet Katrina Halili, their testimonies are confusing----one couldn’t be sure where truth and lies start and end. Stable minds are wondering why such a vulgar erotic affair has become a circus in the senate distracting the public from more important issues.

It’s embarrassing that the entire nation is dragged into the salaciousness of sex that comes from an immature cosmetic surgeon and a budding young actress. In a fit of anger, a man doused water on the surgeon during the probe. Everybody becomes the guardian of morals as the perplexing details of private lives are revealed.

The Philippine Medical Association (PMA) takes interest in finding the truth about Dr. Hayden Kho and another girl-lover, Dr. Vicky Belo---that sensational lady-doctor who specializes on bringing celebrities, medical science, and the aesthetics of the human body together.

But on the side, one can’t ignore a poor man's dirty video business which comes along with the scandal. Illegal copies of the skin flicks of Kho and Halili are peddled like hotcakes coincident to their televised infamy. Even the old sex movies of faded actors and actresses in Philippine cinema have stirred renewed interest. Once again pornographic films have a come back in the Manila and in the provinces.

The senate must do its job well. This kind of investigation has the potential to excite the sexual fantasies of the entire nation without safeguarding the morals of the people. If laws will be enacted from lessons out of the sex scandal, they must at the very least, be enforced. (Photo Credit: Inquirer) =0=

RELATED BlOG: "Dr. Vicki Belo: a lesson on cosmetic surgery, sex, & "quackery"?" Posted by mesiamd at 11/07/2009

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PostHeaderIcon Obama addresses Notre Dame University amid protests

5/18/2009 | Posted by Anonymous | Edit Post


Pres. Barack Obama finally was able to attend the commencement exercises of Notre Dame University on March 17, 2009 amid protests for his stance against abortion. In what many Catholic bishops consider as a scandal, the school went on to give the president an honorary degree which offended many.

There were at least 27 protesters arrested during the graduation rites who believe that terminating the life of the unborn is intrinsically wrong. They believe having Obama in the Catholic university receiving an honorary degree damages the moral teaching of the Church.

“Obama entered the arena to thunderous applause and a standing ovation from many in the crowd of 12,000. But as the president began his commencement address, at least three protesters interrupted it. One yelled, 'Stop killing our children'"--YahooNews.com/ AP (05/17/09, Pace, J)

To assuage his audience, Obama, a staunch abortion advocate called for understanding saying that willful termination of pregnancy should be rare. But many of his opponents who know how the president had used words to his advantage doubt if this will be true. (Photo Credit: Supernova)=0=

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PostHeaderIcon Caroline Kennedy’s support for abortion disqualifies her as US ambassador to the Vatican

4/15/2009 | Posted by Anonymous | Edit Post

After her failed bid to become the New York senator replacement of Hillary Clinton, Caroline Kennedy, 53, the only surviving child of the Pres. John F. Kennedy was considered unfit to serve as ambassador to the Holy See. According to Vatican sources, Kennedy’s staunch support abortion (just like the support of other Obama nominees) disqualifies her for the position.

Obama's endorsement of Caroline to the post had been perceived as a reward for the Kennedy's support to his presidential election. Many Catholics believe it is an insult to their faith to send in a woman who accepts the killing of unborn human beings.

The embarrassing rejection which the White House didn’t comment on, was upheld by Raymond Flynn, a former US ambassador to the Vatican, who said the well-connected Kennedy who espouses secular-liberal values contrary to Roman Catholic teaching wasn’t a good choice.

"It's imperative, it's essential that the person who represents us to the Holy See be a person who has pro-life values. I hope the President doesn't make that mistake," he told the Boston Herald. "She said she was pro-choice. I don't assume she's going to change that, which is problematic."----Telegraph.co. uk.(04/11/09, Spillius, A)

It’s just right that the Roman Catholic Church must assert what it teaches. A religion doesn’t have to bow down to the dictates of the secular society---especially if such dictates are contrary to its beliefs and traditions. Caroline's faulty nomination to the Holy See is just one among several in Obama administration who accepted positions with questionable qualifications. Photo Credit: photo240779) =0=

RELATED BLOG: "Caroline Kennedy backs out from New York US Senate race" Posted by mesiamd at 1/22/2009

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PostHeaderIcon Fighting corruption with "Moral Force Movement"

4/08/2009 | Posted by Anonymous | Edit Post


Chief Justice Reynato Puno of the Supreme Court finds the Holy Week celebration an apt occasion to remind Filipinos to fight corruption. In spite of the Philippines being the only Christian country in Asia, he tells the country's moral degeneration that has made it a pariah among its neighbors.

“Corruption in the country has been deforming all its institutions, undermining our stability and security and preventing our socio-economic development. We can arrest this social decadence through a moral force.” ----Reynato Puno. Philstar (04/07/09, Punay, E.)

Last year’s Global Corruption Report revealed that RP's corruption index hase fallen into the 141st spot tying with Cameroon, Iran, and Yemen, among 180 countries. This is a 10 point drop from the country’s rating of the previous year. The worsening corruption index had been attributed to major corruption cases that the government had been unable to solve.

Recently, World Bank (WB) exposed collusion in the giving of road project contracts in the Philippines which brings shame to government officials running the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH.) Jose Miguel Arroyo, the husband of Pres. Gloria Arroyo is implicated in the scandal, but little effort is made to fully investigate his case.

Puno envisions the moral movement to be politically neutral. A moral force is being harnessed by tapping leaders for the "Moral Force Movement"----from business, church, youth, and the media to combat the debilitating effects of dishonesty in government. Similar to the goals of "Kaya Natin Movement," the moral force's current focus is to help attain an honest presidential election in 2010.

Religious organizations like the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP), the Philippine Council of Evangelical Churches, the National Council of Churches in the Philippines, the Philippine Bible Society and the Ecumenical Bishops Forum are supportive of the initiative that is long-overdue. (Photo Credit: by Zero_Q)=0=

"Moral Force" Movement Core Group

Reynato Puno, Chief Justice, Supreme Court
Marixi R. Prieto, Chair, PDI; trustee Metrobank & Gerry Roxas Foundation
Henrietta de Villa, Chair, Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting
Mgsr. Gerardo Santos, Pres. Catholic Educational Asso. of the Philippines
Dr. Emerito Nakpil, (Ret.) Bishop of United Mathodist Church
Brig. Gen. Jaime Echeverria, (Ret.,) Asso. of Generals and Flag Officers
Dr. Milwida Guevara, Dir. of the Synergeia Foundatin
Atty. Andres Juan Bautista, Dean, FEU Institute of Law
Noorain Sabdulla, TOYM Awardee and Muslim Representative

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PostHeaderIcon Obama’s stem cell research policy: the use of embryonic cells from helpless unborn sparks religious debate

3/10/2009 | Posted by Anonymous | Edit Post


As a sign of the moral dilemma and political divide rocking the United States, Pres. Barack Obama reverses the Bush-era stem cell policy that protects the embryo from being used as a tool in finding treatments and cures for illnesses. It is one of the many secularist liberal thrusts of the new administration.

The contentious decision is a triumph for those who want effective treatments against diverse illnesses like cancer, stroke, heart attack, and Parkinson's disease. However, it is a set-back for the outspoken anti-abortion groups and pro-lifers who believe that life starts at conception and therefore the unborn is deserving of social protection.

“Embryonic stem cells are master cells that can morph into any cell of the body. Scientists hope to harness them so they can create replacement tissues to treat a variety of diseases — such as new insulin-producing cells for diabetics, cells that could help those with Parkinson's disease or maybe even Alzheimer's, or new nerve connections to restore movement after spinal injury. But they come with criticism. "I believe it is unethical to use human life, even young embryonic life, to advance science," said Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council, a conservative organization that opposes the move.”:----Yahoo News/ AP (03/08/09, Eliot, J)

Obama is criticized by conservatives for approving the use of embryos in stem cell research to be funded by tax payers’ dollars. But his supporters believe curing sickness and allaying suffering take precedence over the welfare of the embryo. The advocates of the new policy are part of the rising number of Americans who believe that life without maladies is possible. They hope the words "incurable" and "terminal" may one day be banished from the vocabulary.

"This action is morally wrong because it encourages the destruction of innocent human life, treating vulnerable human beings as mere products to be harvested," said Cardinal Justin Rigali, the Archbishop of Philadelphia and Chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops' Committee on Pro-Life Activities"----Yahoo News/ AP (03/09/09, Gorski, E)



There are those who believe that the public funding of embryonic stem research is a paradoxical prelude to setting up of a healthcare policy which will use less costly medical services to the aged and the severely ill----a radical triage plan which favors more care for people who are young and productive over those who are old, and disabled.

Despite the advance of modern science and temptations to hasten social engineering, life must be respected at the start of conception. Having seen abortion and selective pregnancies done in the America first hand, I don’t concur with Obama’s stance to use the cells of developing embryos in research investigations.

Though I may well benefit from embyronic stem cells because of my illness and disability, on ethical and religious grounds, I believe researches must find a way to spare the embryo. Life in its early form has been redefined, used and abused to suit certain socio-political agenda. The growing embryo deserves equality, dignity, and protection from society just like any human being.

“Princeton University politics professor Robert George, a Catholic and another member of the Bush-era Council on Bioethics, said the moral argument over embryonic stem cell research is not rooted in religion but in ethics and equality. He said research shows that an embryo is a human being in its earliest form of development, so we have to ask ourselves whether all human life should be treated equally, with dignity and respect. “----Yahoo News/ AP (03/09/09, Gorski, E)

Convenience, easing suffering, prologation of life, and escaping mortality must not be done at the expense of others in society. From the vantage of science, embyronic stem cell research is not the only way to find cures against life-threatening and debilitating illness.

It’s my belief that individuals and governments have no ethical right to use cells of helpless embryos to advance the conveniences of the strong even if the need is pressing. Though cures from stem cells may one day be realized with the use of the conceptus, humanity can’t escape the changes that go with something as natural as sickness and ageing---all that leads to dying and demise. (Photo Credits: California Institute for Regenerative Medicine x 2)=0=

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PostHeaderIcon UP’s bizarre nude runs spill over university belt

3/05/2009 | Posted by Anonymous | Edit Post
What was once a prank of running nude in the UP Diliman had morphed into a spectacle of genital display among other students in the University belt in Manila. Elevated from a raunchy tradition by the Alpha Phi Omega (APO) fraternity to dramatize “protests” against school issues like tuition fee increases or government corruption, members of the same fraternity staged another nude run in public streets.

The event has the usual draw of crowds--- giggling watchers and cajoling voyeurs as male students excitedly bare their skin, interrupting commerce and vehicular traffic. The disruptive display of private body parts has caught the ire of Senator Minority Leader Aquilino Pimentel who sees zero value in the immature behavior.

Airing his disapproval to the Senate Education Committee and demanding for an investigation, Sen. Pimentel asserted, "Sanction the parties responsible, including the university authorities for their failure to exercise their duty to see to it that the laws and the rules of this country may prevail... What redeeming social value does displaying the male genitals to prurient or innocent audience, young and old, pose to justify it?" GMANewsTV (03/04/09; 03/05/99 Balagtas-See, A)

For the overwhelming majority, Pimentel can rightly remind individuals and school authorities of laws against lascivious public exhibitions. There are boundaries of decency that Filipinos must uphold even if students and their teachers imagine they are the naked patriots, "mga hubad na bayani"--- the emblematic reincarnations of the statue guarding the entrance of UP.

Organized shedding off of clothes is hardly an affair that one can be proud of. The “Oblation Run” has become embarrassingly vulgar. Many innocent children have been exposed to body parts better wrapped in garments. Yet even UP, the cream of the country’s universities, finds nudity exhilarating. For its frequency, the bizarre exhibitions come like a recurrent lewd joke devoid of meaningful significance.

At the end of the 100th year of the state university, close to a hundred Upians in Diliman bare themselves as an “offering” to their alma mater. Similar controversial naked runs have been staged in different UP campuses and in schools where the APO fraternity has its members. (Photo Credit: Justin Jovellanos) =0=

RELATED BLOGS: "The Oblation Run: a risque prank becomes a raunchy protest" Posted by mesiamd at 6/20/2008; "Nudity in UP Campus" Posted by mesiamd at 12/18/2008


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PostHeaderIcon Morality as an administrative order

2/18/2009 | Posted by Anonymous | Edit Post


The administrative order No. 5 signed by Pres. Gloria M. Arroyo calls for a program that will bring moral renewal to the country. Is it for real? The presidential edict comes on the heels of many corruption charges which see no end. As the president’s tenure reaches the finish line, the entire nation wonders what will be accomplished by the action plan for moral rejuvenation. Zero tolerance towards corruption---that's what the president says.

"Why only now? She should have done it long before. It is funny she's calling for moral renewal now as it is only a year before the end of her term unless she plans to extend her term," Jinggoy Estrada said.---GMATVNews. Net (02/17/09)

Widespread corruption is out of the box in the Arroyo government, but no one has the resolve to prove it. Used to inaction, Filipinos live in apathy and forlorn silence with their frayed cultural values. They hope a deliverer will come to rescue them--- or something will happen by simply waiting.

Foreign observers point to widespread dishonesty, but most of us choose to keep our mouths shut. The emboldened corrupt among us are defensive. They are trying to convince us there’s nothing that can be done. It’s only a year before the next presidential election and many believe the government is better left alone to wither away for the next status quo. (Photo Credit: bw.futures(away)=0=

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PostHeaderIcon “Not as a lecturer or as a judge,” EU thinks RP must do more to curb corruption

1/29/2009 | Posted by Anonymous | Edit Post


Many huge corruption charges in the Philippines involve officials in the highest corridors of power, but almost all of them remain as accusations displayed like dirty laundry for the public to bear. At the cost of the country’s credibility, almost no one gets punished. The entire nation keeps a blind eye of the growing list of scandals whose outcomes are often tip in favor of the crime doers.

For a long time, corruption comes like a foul odor ignored by the government and its citizens. The stench is allowed to stay, follow its course, until it dissipates in the wind. That’s the usual course that has incrementally robbed the country of its shame and dignity. The public is tired, perhaps, about to give up on corruption---for even with laws in place, there is little accountability. There is almost no public outcry of protest.

Illegal deals and criminal transactions occur right on the face of a Pres. Gloria M. Arroyo. Circumventing the law is common, perpetrated by criminals in broad daylight without embarrassment. The hideousness of the corrupt practices has prompted foreign entities like the World Bank (WB) and European Union (EU) to sound their alarm; they point to government deals that smell too stinky to brush aside. The latest is the WB disclosure of fraud in its bank-financed projects.

The president’s husband Jose M. Arroyo, just like in the past, has been linked to greedy collusion schemes. The latest is with the E.C. De Luna Construction Corp, one of the contractors named by the World Bank for rigging the bidding process of road projects funded by foreign money. Officials of the foreign bank are dismayed by the scale of corruption that is traced way back in 2007.

Careful not to rub the sense of shame of Filipinos, WB’s corruption charges which point the complicity of Chinese partners, suggest that the international community can’t just watch the dirty way the government is run. Pres. Gloria M. Arroyo continues to play the charade for the nation.

The EU also sounded its concern by offering the Philippines help to fight corruption. Ambassador Alistair MacDonald of the European Commission said in a Commission of Human Rights meeting in Manila that the EU “sees corruption as a symptom of poor governance and lack of transparent, accountable management, and control system. ---Philstar (10/28/09, Clapano, JR)

There it is. MacDonald is right in saying that officials, the civil society and media must work together to fight corruption in government by observing “transparent electoral processes and supporting parliamentary and judicial oversight.” The country can’t live with perversion of integrity that is out in the open and politicalized for everyone to see, but can’t do something against it.

Even if the outside world wants to help the Philippines solve corruption, it is still the people who must first reject and work against it. There is no shortage of anti-corruption laws. They are just waiting to be enforced, not by officials who are themselves corrupt, but by those who are committed to move the country ahead.

The fight against corruption needs ethical leaders to help government officials and business leaders reform their ranks. They need moral rejuvenation and accountability which must be taught and applied in the community. With the nation’s fate at stake, there is deep shame when foreigners remind Filipinos of their freedom, duty for country, and moral responsibilities. (Photo Credits: Almostevil665; wdbphoto) =0=

RELATED BLOG: "Corruption scandals hurting Filipinos under Pres. Gloria M. Arroyo" Posted by mesiamd at 1/29/2009; "On Philippine Corruption And Our Being Inure To It" Posted by myty555 at 12/16/2008

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