People’s vigilance guarantee vs corruption

Top officials of the cities of Bell, Vernon and Huntington Park in California were charged with corruption, including overspending and extravagant spending of public funds. Their abuses and misdeeds were unearthed, thanks to the vigilance of their constituents. Through sheer determination to gather the facts that would pin down their officials, the people of these cities succeeded in bringing the culprits to the courts of justice, and some of those indicted tendered their resignation without prejudice to their prosecution.

What happened to these officials underlined the need for people’s vigilance against corruption. Were it not for their unwavering and courageous moves to ferret out the truth, the unscrupulous public “servants” were likely to continue their nefarious activities.

Needless to say, we direly need people’s vigilance in our country to safeguard public funds and to prevent the crook from committing anomalies in government service. The crusade of President Aquino to stamp out corruption is undoubtedly a bold step in the right direction. And in this regard, it is heartwarming to note that after two years of holding the reins of government, he has been emphasizing and proving that there will be no letup in his efforts to put an end to the shenanigans in public service.

He has also set the tone for honesty, integrity and morality in governance which is certainly in conjunction with the Filipino people’s desire for clean, effective, responsive and graft-free administration; one that is in sharp contrast to the immediate past regime.

At this juncture, it may be recalled that corruption was a top issue in the May 10, 2010 presidential elections which saw Mr. Aquino overwhelmingly trounce his two main political opponents who were perceived by the electorate to be vulnerable to committing irregularities in government.

Our President has shown that it is imperative to follow the straight path (“matuwid na daan”) in public service. We, the citizenry, can do no less.

—EUSEBIO S. SAN DIEGO ,

founder, Kaguro and former president, Quezon City Public School Teachers Association, [email protected]