In the Harry Potter series, Voldemort is considered the most notorious wizard of all time. In 2020 when the pandemic hit, a lot of Voldemorts were revealed to be in our midst. But in fact, even before the COVID-19 scare began, they had already been roaming around, killing innocent lives with every “Avada Kedavra” gunshot. The magic word “nanlaban” would exempt them from responsibility for the lives lost, and apparently, they wore invisibility cloaks because many of them are still at large.
The Department of Health was once again in the news recently because of the findings of the Commission on Audit that P67.32 billion funds were mismanaged. Not so long ago, PhilHealth also faced controversy regarding P15 billion in lost funds due to corruption. Again, the Voldemorts in power just swished their wands to tamper with the evidence and escape responsibility.
COVID-19 has made the Philippines the worst place to be in during this pandemic, but the Voldemorts still claim we are on the right track.
Section 1, Article XI of the 1987 Constitution states: “Public office is a public trust. Public officers and employees must, at all times, be accountable to the people, serve them with utmost responsibility, integrity, loyalty, and efficiency; act with patriotism and justice, and lead modest lives.”
Our public servants should be loyal not to a person, but to the country and to its people. Our officials should be serving us, the Filipino people, and not a family of “dark wizards” who just follow a bigger Voldemort out there and who want nothing but to sit on the throne and regain power.
Being a public servant has nothing to do with the popularity of one’s name, but is all about the character attached to it. A good public servant embraces the true meaning of public service. In the coming elections, let us be informed about the candidates, remain vigilant, and not elect any more Voldemorts into power.
Claudine Chelsea T. Faylogna, Makati City