How propitious that the ZTE national broadband network (NBN) controversy is happening during this time of Lent. Certainly there is a link between the two, for Lent is the season for repentance and for going back to the light of truth, which are the same calls we hear these days as regards the anomalous ZTE-NBN deal. Here, therefore, are some points for reflection centered on the central question of Lent: Why did Christ die on the cross?
Truth. The ZTE-NBN deal, and all corruption for that matter, is untruth. That is why such deals are made in secret, under the table or in the dark, and not in the open or in the light of legal public procedures such as public biddings. They also fly against the virtue of honest work. That is why the eight-hour, taxpaying, hardworking salaried workers are outraged by the exposés of Rodolfo Noel Lozada Jr. All the more, when corruption is perpetrated by government officials, such as in this case; it is a violation of the sacred oath they make when they are sworn into office. Public service is a public trust, our Constitution says. Corruption therefore inflicted by government is a betrayal of that trust to the highest degree.
The nature of sin is to be corrosive. Sin begets more sin. We lie to cover an original lie. In the current controversy, it is often lamented how well-intentioned individuals such as Commission on Higher Education Chair Romulo Neri or Philippine National Police Director General Avelino Razon are made to toe the indefensible government line (or lie?). How unfortunate as well that more and more government agencies are drawn into what seems to be a cover-up.
If the government is indeed interested in the uncovering of the truth, why not lift Executive Order 464 which has effectively gagged government officials from telling the truth? As observed by many, even the newfound interest of the Department of Justice and the Ombudsman in the ZTE-NBN case, which could prohibit the Senate from further investigating the case, smacks of another political strategy to stall the truth from really coming out.
But how indeed can anyone expect any truth from this government whose record for truth-telling has been spotty from the start? From the President who turned back on her word that she would not run for office, the many unresolved corruption cases top billed by the “Hello, Garci” election scandal to the killings of journalists who by profession are truth-tellers. The untruths committed by this government certainly cry to the heavens.
Why did Jesus die on the cross? Precisely because he spoke the truth. And this made leaders in his time uncomfortable, for his message, the good news he preached, challenged their hold on power. For this crime of truth-telling, he must die. They would rather live in the dark than embrace the light that he offers. The Gospel of John tells us: “And this is the verdict, that the light came into the world, but people preferred darkness to light, because their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come toward the light, so that his works might not be exposed. But whoever lives the truth comes to the light, so that his works may be clearly seen as done in God.”
Social justice. Corruption is purely and simply stealing. And the primary victims of this theft are not the rich but the poor. The World Bank in 2000 and the Office of the Ombudsman in 1997 reported that the government loses $2 billion a year to corruption. Other estimates put it at P100 million a day! Economists say corruption cuts government revenue by 30 percent, and 20 to 30 percent of its budget as well is lost to corruption. These are certainly moneys that could have been used to provide basic services for the many who are poor. Had these not been lost to corruption, agrarian reform could have been allotted ample funds to benefit the millions of small farmers across the country; millions of our urban poor could have been provided shelter or low-cost housing; jobs could have been created so that the youth need not aspire for jobs abroad; more classrooms and more textbooks could have been provided to our public schools; more hospitals catering to the poor could have been built. The point is clear. Corruption steals from the poor.
Why did Christ die on the cross? Because he staked his life with the poor. All the gospels tell us how Christ was born poor, lived with the poor, and preached liberation for the poor. This scared the leaders of his time, concerned as they were that he was becoming too popular among the “masa” [masses], that he might lead a rebellion against them. He must therefore die. And yet the Gospel tells us that at the end times, we will be judged according to how we have dealt with the “little ones.” More to the point, speaking about the Sumilao farmers, Gaudencio Cardinal Rosales made it clear: “Our salvation depends on how we treat the poor.”
It is better for one man to die than for the whole nation to perish. This was how the leaders of Jesus’ time justified the death sentence they gave to him. How eerie that in the way the government machinery is being made to bear on Jun Lozada or any whistleblower, this seems to be the same logic being used. Paradoxically, what is happening is the other way around. The whole energy of the nation is being strained and exhausted over this issue, and for what? The survival of a few individuals, the survival of a President whose legitimacy is even questionable?
In all these, it is not farfetched to think that had Jesus lived during our time, he would have been crucified a second time. And yet in this season of Lent, we are invited to follow the example of Christ. In our communal action against corruption, we must embrace the light of truth and fight for his little ones.
