Corruption Really Works

Recently, the government of Cebu showcased its financial power in the celebration of the 12th ASEAN Summit. The government of Cebu, led by its governor, Gwendolyn Garcia, established the Cebu International Convention Center or the CICC. The meetings of the 12th ASEAN Summit are going to be held in this majestic establishment. It was found out that the whole expense for the establishment was 515 million pesos (P515-M). But is it really worth that much?

Aside from the CICC, the very obvious evidence of corruption is the decorative street lamps built at the sidewalks. The city auditors said that one decorative street lamp costs 95 thousand pesos (P95 000), when in fact it costs way less than the said amount. Why way less than? It is because a surveyor from another country examined the materials that were used in the construction. He found out that the total expected cost for one decorative street lamp is only five thousand pesos (P5 000) and not 95 thousand pesos (P95 000). Imagine that, a difference of 90 thousand pesos (P95 000). Where could have this amount gone to? Well, it probably went into the pockets of officials and contractors. As we all know, corruption in the Philippines is already a system. Whenever there are projects, corruption starts creeping in the backdoor. So, with these amounts shown and wasted, do you still believe that the government does not have enough money to support the people of Cebu?

For the past years, the government has been telling us people that their funds are not enough to support the people. But if this is the case, why do they have enough money every time there are projects that involve fame? I mean, should not be their main aim of their office to serve and protect the people? Government hospitals do not have enough facilities to support people because the government does not give them the right funds. People cannot even get free medicine from their barangay health centers. Does the government really must work like this? Of course not! They must help the people and provide their basic needs. If they have not taken their economics for crying out loud, the main responsibilities of the government is to provide security, step-up economical situations and most of all to provide and support social needs. I think that the government has neglected the most important duty of all. They have forgotten that they are put into that position not to rule, but to lead and to serve the people.

So for me, I think the government is just lying or just too lazy to act to the real problem of the country. By looking at the evidences, we can no longer deny the fact that the government has already enough money to support the needs of the people. Maybe not all, but some will do, especially on the social services part.

As a conclusion to this, if we are to look at the establishment of the CICC and the expenses of the decorative street lamps, it is very evident that corruption really works. Not only by giving fortune to officials but by also giving fame to the country. Why fame? Well, it did prove to the world that the Philippines has the guts and the money. Ironic huh…

The Look

Strephon kissed me in the spring,
Robin in the fall,
But Colin only looked at me
And never kissed me at all

Strephon’s kiss was lost in jest,
Robin’s lost in play,
But the kiss in Colin’s eyes
Haunts me night and day.
-Sara Teasdale-

This poem tells us about a girl who had known men for quite sometime. If we look at the lines in the poem, it can be seen that the girl has some kind of suitors, namely Strephon, Robin and Colin. The first two men both kissed her at different seasons while the other did not kiss her at all.

It was in spring that Strephon kissed her, while it was in fall for Robin. If I were to analyze this part, it is as if the girl has experienced the feeling of love twice from different men before she found the right one. And how did I know this? Well, by just looking at the last part of the poem, which is when the girl said that she is haunted night and day, one can already say that she fell into the love trap of Colin. But this is not the only analysis that I can derive in this poem. Another analysis would be that something done in a different way or a special way will always be remembered rather than doing the same thing all over again.

It is said in the poem that the kiss that Strephon and Robin gave her was all lost in jest and in play. It was all gone in an instant. But the kiss that Colin made was the only kiss that was not lost in jest or in play. By just reading at these statements, one can ask why did she not forget Colin’s kiss. It was because Colin’s kiss was not the usual kiss that our love ones do to us whenever they express their love. Colin’s kiss was a peculiar one because he used his eyes and his look in kissing the girl. The girl on the other hand, was surprised on what the boy did that she could not stop thinking about it. She was somehow stunned to what the boy did because instead of using the chance to kiss her, he just looked at her. Maybe, the girl just could not believe what happened to her and that is why she felt that way.

But if you ask me, this is very normal. To feel eerie on a thing because of its peculiarity is a normal feeling of being a human. In this case, the peculiarity is shown on the part of love. Colin expressed her love for the girl in a totally different way. Instead of kissing her, he just looked at her. If you were the boy, given the chance to kiss her like any other suitors, would you kiss her or do nothing? Of course, the common answer would be to kiss her also. I mean, hey, I like this person very much, so why would not I kiss her? But this was not the thinking of Colin. He thought the other way around. He thought that if he loves this person very much, why would he show his love for her in the same manner as of the others? Would that show that his love for her is just of the same level with the others? How will he show that his love was more than the usual and that it is very special?

So, as a whole, this is what the poem is all about. It is all about doing something special for a special someone. It is about doing all the peculiar things in the world just to show to someone his or her worth in your life.