Corruption—its Stability Despite the Changes in the Civil Service System in the Philippines

Whatever the reasons behind my pessimism are as I read through the article “Stability and Change: The Civil Service in the Philippines”, I bet they’re obvious; everyone has a tinge of negativity whenever the topic is public service in our country.

The system of civil service in our country has never been stable or secured, only the weaknesses and awful tribulations have stood through time, and have enveloped the country until now…this situation is what needs change.

It is disgusting to know that corruption had been alive even before we had our own government. It had been a curse throughout the generation. Why had it thrive for such long time? The article answered it; we have loose internal control that our officials can just be fraudulent yet could wash their hands clean of it. As how I see it, there is more to it than just the controls. Why don’t we examine the motivation of some people in entering Civil service? Did all of them really pursue it to be servants? Perhaps not, and worse, more act like business persons who invest in their campaigns, and when public bites their ads, they start to go for a three-fold or even higher return on their investments(which if they were really into the corporate world would be a good thing, but are they?) In addition, corruption was like a disease which infects those with low resistance. Unfortunately, everyone seemed to have lacked proper nutrients to boost their immune system.

A fact is that individualism increases as one attains higher education. However, corruption, a manifestation of extreme individualism, does not put claim to a high education but to an education that failed to balance nurturing the heart, mind, and soul. In this instance, futility of their formal education is what led to corruption. This congruence between the three is evident in the many good laws and policies that have been magnificently imprinted in our constitution