TURNING POINT: The Mother of Corruption

NAAWAN, Misamis Oriental (MindaNews / 7 December) — Flood is the making of nature. From the skies, the dark clouds drop mighty rain bombs on forests, hills, and plains beyond the capacity of water channels to accommodate. This results in overflowing from the channels, submerging everything along their course. So floods happen.

Floods have become the number one source or cause of corruption in the country.

They make plunderers, criminals out of so-called honorable men in the hall of Congress, who connive with those entrusted in the country’s infrastructure development in funding ghost and substandard flood control projects, engaging the services of favored, although not qualified contractors, and of ghost contractors, to rake in money to their coffers. Payments for the ghosts are even advanced upon submission of falsified accomplishment reports, and kickbacks are shared with all scam players.

Flood perpetuates corruption by washing away records and evidence of corruption.

Indeed, the floods have become a money-making industry in the country. Everyone wants to dip their finger into the money jar — lawmakers, contractors, suppliers of construction materials, truckers, and many others in the value chain.

Floods have also turned into an entertainment industry. The people are glued to their TV sets, watching what is churned out by the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee and the Independent Commission for Infrastructure with excitement and great anticipation.

In this manner, floods have, somehow, pleased the nation no matter how fleeting and absurd.

(MindaViews is the opinion section of MindaNews. William R. Adan, Ph.D., is retired professor and former chancellor of Mindanao State University at Naawan, Misamis Oriental.)