‘Resibo’

First off for deniers: Denying the existence of incontrovertible and indisputable proof of wrongdoing deepens the wounds of the suffering and tramples on those who risked their lives to expose the truth.

The word resibo (recibo in Spanish, receipt in English), is a favorite word these days and is used for jokes, puns, and also on serious retorts to demand proof. Because statements, avowals, and denials are strewn around us to gaslight reality, Filipinos have found refuge in the rather innocuous word, resibo. And so the oft-repeated question and demand: “Saan ang resibo?” (Where is the receipt?)

Resibo got more media mileage when a candidate, to prove payment of fine, reportedly had his lawyer produce a receipt for paid rent. “Juice colored!” is the millennial exclamation for that.

And so resibo no longer simply means a piece of paper to show that a payment or a transaction was made, it has become a weapon to demand the truth, as in, “Prove it.” In a video footage of an investigation, a simple request to hand over a receipt, “Akin na ang resibo,” elicited much laughter.

We, Filipinos, have a penchant for finding humor during serious undertakings and laugh even while government coffers are being emptied by shenanigans from fly-by-night corporations. Oh, but we laugh even louder when the resibo shows it, and the guilty get their comeuppance.

Even presidential candidate Vice President Leni Robredo used the word when she declared in her campaign sorties and, if I remember right, in one of the debates, how her office performed during crisis situations and reached out to the needy. Yes, despite President Duterte shunting her out from his administration, leaving her with a small budget, and to fend on her own. Oh, but how she thrived, proof of how a woman finds ways to make it through stormy nights, landslides, and rising floodwaters—not for herself but for those crying out from their abject situation. May resibo.

Sounds cliché but as the saying goes, it takes a woman. And during this month of March, when women all over the world are being celebrated, appreciated, and held high, it behooves us to take pride in the women in our lives and show it by supporting them concretely.

The Commission on Audit (COA) has given the Office of the Vice President (OVP) the highest audit rating for three consecutive years. The COA gave the OVP an “unqualified opinion,” which is considered the best that an audited government agency can be given. This means that the agency has presented its financial position and statements in order and in accordance with the Philippine Public Sector Accounting Standards. “May resibo po kami,” (We have the receipts) the Vice President declares repeatedly.

Other government agencies wave their own receipts only to reveal scandalous overpricing, failure in exercising due diligence, especially in procurement, and dealing with dubious providers as was shown in the questionable Pharmally deal that was the subject of a Senate investigation. While the country was groaning because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Duterte administration dealt with Pharmally, a corporation set up overnight and with little startup capital for protective medical equipment that were overpriced. So much for political connections. Patingin ng resibo!Those who label the massive Leni-Kiko rallies as elitist for lack of any serious issue to tarnish it with are off the mark. They deny credit for those from the financially challenged sectors who come to be part of the “wave,” who have no material support to give but their presence and voices. They are mistaken as “elitist” because they come clean and disente. As if the poor can only be uncouth and unwashed.

From friend and colleague Marites D. Vitug of Rappler: “When I watch videos of Leni-Kiko rallies and see some participants giving away pandesal, bottles of water, treating each other with kindness, immersing themselves in the atmosphere of togetherness, I ask myself, ‘Where is this coming from?’ Apart from the inspiration from VP Leni, it looks like a manifestation of liberation from almost six years of uncivil and lacerating leadership, from curse-laden talk and vile threats, from a Malacañang-directed polarization.”

“D’accord,” former ambassador Victoria Bataclan comments.

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