Philippines and Surveys

The Philippines ranked high in corruption among the countries of the world. And just recently, we won the second place slot among the most corrupt countries in Asia, that is according to a survey conducted in Hong Kong. We could have been the number one if it were not for Indonesia who took away all the glory of being called the most corrupt country in Asia. If you ask me, I think we deserve to be on the top spot. Forgive me for being cynical, but hey, it's the reality dude. Our government is riddled with officials who cares for nothing but their own selfish gain. Sure we were able to bring down the regimes of corrupt leaders like Marcos and Estrada but we replaced them instead with others who are as selfish and corrupt as them. No wonder the Philippines never progresses, there are just too many leeches in the government. We need to get rid of them. Millions of pesos that should be used for the development of our country just end up in the pockets of corrupt officials. The government should do more to track down these thieves. It's not only about fighting graft and corruption, it should be more of preventing it.

But amidst the political instability, corruption, tax hikes, and increasing prices, the Philippines, for some weird reason, is among the 10 happiest nations in the world which is according to World Values Survey. We were even happier than rich nations in Asia like China, Japan, and South Korea. It's a good thing because it shows that we Filipinos are not materialistic and that our happiness is not gauged on how much we have in our pockets. According to a TIME article that I read, it is our being social that makes us happy people. Also, we are generally happy because it takes so little to make us happy. Sabi nga diba, mababaw ang kaligayahan natin. Yes, we are complacent people na basta't buhay, may makakain, at kasama ang mga mahal sa buhay, ay masaya na.

With the recent surveys in mind one can ask: Are we happy because we are corrupt? Or are we corrupt because we're happy? Before you answer that, take a look at Nigeria. Nigeria ranks third among the most corrupt countries in the world. It also happens to be the happiest nation in the world. Ironic isn't it. Go ahead and figure it out.

This entry was posted on March 10, 2005 at 8:42 PM. You can skip to the end and leave a response.