By Rhonna Canoy
SO… Often, I find my thoughts provoked by unexpected people. The past few weeks I’ve been chewing over something which I heard uttered by controversial US comedian Dave Chappelle, who has long fascinated me. Here’s what he said: “If the system is corrupt, then those who adhere to and are incentivized by the system are victims.” Oh, what an argument this statement raised when I presented it for discussion.
Initially, I reacted just like most people would. “What do you mean?” I said. “These corrupt people should be punished,” I said. “Victims? Absurd!” I said. Until I had thought and thought and thought about how this could possibly make sense. And, strangely enough, it did. Now, this is a kind of intense thought with which to start my 2020 column misadventures, but I’m intrigued and you’re going down that rabbit hole with me.
For all the times that we Pinoys hoped that each new administration would solve our corruption woes, we must be commended for our optimism. Each time someone comes up for election to be president, the issue of house cleaning is what makes a lot of people rally round the candidate who eventually wins. Seriously. From the time of the sainted Corazon, up to the present uncontrollable Rodrigo, it has been the issue of corruption that has shot them to the top of the administrative ladder. And none, I repeat none, have succeeded. Made a dent, perhaps, but eventually gave up. Why?
“If the system is corrupt…” How powerful these simple words are, and how overlooked in the way it cuts to the root of the problem. We all know the faces that manifest the dirt. The people who made us rejoice when they got caught with both their hands in the cookie jar and were held accountable. The people who cause us to seethe with frustration because of our seeming helplessness to bring them to justice.
And yet, were we to think about it, do we even know what would happen if these corrupt crooks—all of them—were to be made to answer for their horrendous wrongdoing? Well, first we hope they would suffer a humiliating public trial. And then we hope they would be found guilty and incarcerated. That’s the hope. But then what? And here’s the rub, which I think even Rodrigo was not prepared for when he stepped into the office with the intent to end corruption.
Here’s where it gets hairy. No matter how many people are brought to the Ombudsman, the Sandiganbayan, the courts, we’re not going to get rid of the corruption because all we’re going to do is change the manifesting faces. All those people who “adhere to and are incentivized by the system” will be replaced by new ones who will do the same. Because the system itself is corrupt. My resident atorni made a comment which was what gave me a reason to think about this matter.
“I knew the man well, and I never would have expected him to be part of this corrupt scheme.” And I’m sure he knew the man well. So what happened? He got chewed up by the system. I suppose it’s difficult to challenge one’s principles in the face of getting away with millions and millions of pesos. And the opportunity to repeat the act without impunity. I suppose there are millions and millions of ways that the crime can be justified. Or maybe the basic human instinct to be greedy rears its ugly head. Greed, after all, is what fuels our instinct for survival.
When Dave Chappelle confronted the systemic corruption in the US show biz arena, he had just been offered a $50,000,000 contract by Comedy Central. That’s an awful lot of zeroes (actually that’s why I wrote it out!). For the contract to come to fruition, there were certain stipulations and conditions which were placed upon him to keep quiet about certain things, which only came to light much later. When Dave walked away from his show without notice nor explanation, the comedy world was shocked and could not hide its disbelief. After all, his contract offer was one of the biggest if not the biggest in industry history.
But he did walk away. And for 12 years, was an untouchable, a pariah. No one wanted to have anything to do with him for fear that they too would suffer the backlash of those whom he had angered. He went to live a quiet life on a farm in Ohio with his Filipina wife and stayed under the radar for more than a decade. Eventually, some company was brave enough to bring him back, and he has come with a vengeance. Yay for me!
Now... faced with such financial gain (even though legal in Chappelle’s case), how many people would have the courage and integrity to walk away from all those zeroes? Especially if coupled with the possibility of repeating the deed over and over and over again? Because corruption has become systemic, we’re not going to get rid of it so easily. More so because we consider ourselves bystanders. But it took a personal act for me to understand how we are all victimized.
Here’s the thing. Each time that we have to have a transaction with our government which affects our personal survival, we are placed in a situation where we must give in to the system. When we apply for franchises with the LTFRB after we have invested our life’s earnings in a vehicle that we hope to provide us with some financial stability, we succumb to the system. When our businesses are “offered” a compromise by the BIR to lower the assessed taxes by paying under the table, we succumb to the system. When our public officials are given “commissions” for large infrastructure contracts, they succumb to the system.
And the system will continue to thrive regardless of who takes the place of those who get caught. The system will continue to corrupt those who we thought were incorruptible. And until we force ourselves to see things differently and go after the system, and not the people who represent it, nothing will change. But I, like hundreds of thousands of Pinoys, am ready for some serious housekeeping. If anyone has any good ideas, please email me.
Oh, and Dave Chappelle’s long-time Filipina wife? Her name is Elaine Mendoza Erfe. I wonder if she has relatives here in our city. That intrigues me too.
