Corruption is eating the nation

Ben Contreras

RUFFY Biazon served as commissioner of Bureau of Customs (BOC) for more than two years. He was, I suppose, tasked to clean up this notorious institution where even the lowest ranking employee could still own things only the rich could afford.

Biazon was reported to have formed his own team of men to institute reforms that may change the image of BOC. Whatever happened? Biazon didn’t stay long where he could have made himself super rich and his team vanish into thin air.

And what has become of the BOC after Biazon? Did his team vanish into thin air or were some of them eaten by the system of greed and corruption?

Some government agencies can claim the corrupt ones as “exception rather than the rule.” But BOC is allegedly different. The corrupt ones are the rule and the honest ones are the exception.

Where do we learn of these allegations? A bit comes from insiders themselves, especially those who have recently been eaten by the system and are initially enjoying the evil fruits of corruption. But most come from businessmen, companies, importers and exporters, etc.

PNoy can hardly claim innocence. Either way, the buck stops at the door of Malacañang. If PNoy claims he doesn’t know it, then he is a lousy President. If he knew it and did nothing to stop it, he is still a lousy President.

The corruption in BOC is a slow type of cancer that continues to eat into the coffers of the government. We are not talking of millions but billions of pesos. A position in the bureau is said to be for sale because the reward is more than just a good investment.

How many ports in the country are known for smuggling? Of late, rice is taking the center stage. Sacks of imported rice in hundreds of containers are deliberately withheld for a few years until they rot. And that’s when some insiders make a killing by selling them as feeds, unfit for human consumption.

The spoiled rice intended for Yolanda victims were buried when they could have been turned into feeds. It was supposed to be a secret operation to avoid backlash.

“How should I know that the media would be there to take pictures?” a former Cabinet secretary allegedly asked rhetorically.

Well, according to an alleged witness, the presence of the media people was intentional. It was to ensure that the burying of the rice is reported.

Now, the questions. If the sacks of rice were indeed already rotten, why weren’t they turned into feeds? How many sacks of rice were buried? Were they the rice donated by kind-hearted people or were they part of the rice rotting in the container yards? So, where are the good rice? The big question is: Who made money out of it, and for what purpose?

I hope the National Food Authority is not doing what the BOC is allegedly doing.

I know one good man in the BOC who’s been in the freezer for long. He gets “frozen” every now and then because he refuses to dance with the music. He just wants to survive with what is due him legally. But until when can he stay like that?

We are a rice-producing country but are buying rice at higher costs. Imported rice can be cheaper. But they are made costlier because of corruption.

For exporters and importers, you will cringe in fear when you hear their stories. This is not about “Daang Matuwid.” It is just a slogan. Reality is another thing. And the reality is that, corruption is eating this nation alive.