Our permissible zone

Published by the Visayan Daily Star Publications, Inc.

NINFA R. LEONARDIA Editor-in-Chief & President

CARLA P. GOMEZ Editor GUILLERMO TEJIDA III Desk Editor NANETTE L. GUADALQUIVER Busines Editor CEDELF P. TUPAS Sports Editor (On Leave) RENE GENOVE Bureau Chief, Dumaguete MAJA P. DELY Advertising Coordinator

CARLOS ANTONIO L. LEONARDIA Administrative Officer

Over the course of the newest edition of the Senate's investigation of the NBN-ZTE deal, several statements have been made regarding the size of the commission that has become the focal point of the inquiry. There is Jun Lozada's claim that the kickback demanded by former Comelec Chairman Benjamin Abalos exceeded his personal permissible zones for condoning government corruption. There are also the various comments from government insiders as well as the man on the street that a 100 percent kickback is indeed sacrilegious when the accepted standard for most government projects is widely agreed to be “just” 20 percent.

It is disturbing to see that corruption has become so ingrained in our culture that a majority of us have learned to accept it as a fact of Filipino life and governance as long as it is within our permissible zone. Decades of uncontrolled and unpunished corruption has numbed our tolerance for stealing to the point that most of us have forgotten that the 20 percent standard kickback we can now stomach means that for every 1 billion pesos of our money spent by the government on various projects, at least P200 million is being pocketed by government officials and their accomplices, people who are supposed to be in power in order to serve, and definitely not for self-enrichment.

The only good thing about this corruption of our values is that we can still reverse the trend. We can still raise our standards and let our elected and government officials know that we have done so, that even a 20 percent commission, a figure that has become permissible, is not acceptable anymore. Even if we have a sitting president who has used her immense powers to pardon a convicted plunderer who has not shown an ounce of repentance, nor ever seen the inside of a prison cell, a president who would not surprise the nation if she pardoned more big fish and fall guys if ever they were to be convicted during her term, a leadership that has been spawning a culture of impunity among thieves in government, and the tolerance of corruption among her people, let us not allow the actions of our so-called leaders to dictate our values.

We can still wage a war against corruption. We can still push our permissible zones back to zero tolerance. It would be easier if our leaders were one with us in this quest, but maybe this time, the change should come from within ourselves first, and then, they might just follow our lead.*