Certain on a better government

Ben Contreras

CORRUPTION hinders real progress and real change. Without corruption, taxes would go to where they’re intended. Without corruption, there would be more than enough money for everything needed to implement government projects, address people’s basic needs, free education, and health care, etc.

The reality today is that so much of our taxes and government resources are going to the wrong pockets with impunity. Nobody wants to admit it. Not politicians, I guess. Not even government workers who may have benefited from corruption. And how many see their day in court and get to pay for their sins? What we are seeing are small fries doing their term while the big fish continue to wallow in dirty cash ponds.

Money and power are just as intoxicating as hard drinks. When drunk, one sheds off decency and surrenders to evil. Corruption breeds greed. And greed knows no limit.

Davao Mayor Rodrigo Duterte may not be a 100-percent solution, but he is the best chance we have. As the clamor for real change grows bigger and louder each day as evidenced by his growing number of supporters, his detractors also grow in parallel.

Honestly, I am not disturbed at all when someone hits Duterte for whatever reason. First, it is their right to do so. Second, it is their personal opinion. Let them say their piece if only to prove that democracy in the country still works.

I can speak with certainty that when I retire, I will retire under a better government of Duterte and Cayetano.

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Adjusting to a new environment is not easy. I have to prepare my schedule properly in order to save on gas.

I usually leave home in the morning, have my lunch outside, and would be home late in the afternoon. If there are meetings, then it’s going to be much later in the evening.

However, it’s a lot better than during the construction period when I had to come here from my old place on Corrales Extension several times a day.

The neighborhood is quiet and clean. The effort of the home owner association to keep our subdivision clean is paying off.

I still am adjusting to some policies here. I guess, it’s going to be, say, learning to live with it.

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When we see clouds in the sky, we see hope, hope for the rain to come soon.

There’s fear that after a long dry spell, there would be immense amount of rain, sort of El Niño to La Niña. With the long dry spell, how much have we done to prepare for the usual stuff: flood?

We elevate our roads without doing much in cleaning the rivers, creeks and drains.

Our very own Cagayan River is now so shallow that you could see the river bed from the bridges. The Bitan-ag Creek remains a question crying for answer. Would that infra project going on at Recto Avenue prevent another flooding in the area? Were the open drains around the city cleaned up?

Let’s hope that when the day comes, there won’t be any more finger-pointing.