A Student's Perception: The Pig and the Three Filipinos

 In a far away land called Corruptionapolis, there was a pig that always cries and always asks his God, “Why do the Filipinos hate me so much?” He didn’t receive any answer from him but he didn’t give up. He wandered around Corruptionapolis and met three different Filipinos. He met one who’s a liar, one who pushes him away and one who’s stupid and ignorant.

                The first one he met wears a suit and tie and holds a tobacco between his fingers. He asked him, “Why do the Filipinos hate me so much?” The Filipino looked at him and smiled then he told him, “Not everyone hates you. There are people who say they hate you but actually, they worship you. They are the people who get the benefit of your pork. Those Filipinos only say these words to look clean in the public.”

                The Filipinos believe that the government should abolish the pork barrel system and they thought that the government was on their side when some senators filed resolutions to junk the “pork barrel” funds. However, it didn’t convince PNoy at first and he said that what we need is tighter control and not the complete abolishment of it but during his visit in the “Libingan ng mga Bayani” last August 26, 2013, he said that he supports the Filipinos on their protest of the One Million People March that took place in Luneta on the same date. There are Filipinos who accepted his testimony while some said it was just an act to look favorable in front of the public.

                The second one he met wears a shirt and a pair of trousers.  He went to him and asked, “Why do the Filipinos hate me so much?” The Filipino didn’t give him an answer but pushed him away by throwing his slippers at him. He shouted, “Get the hell out of here, you dirty pork! You’re the one who brings corruption and makes the poor, poorer!”

                Most of the Filipinos want the total abolishment of the “Pork Barrel” funds. They believe that this is the bridge of the government to corruption. The people think that “Pork Barrel” funds would not do anything good to the community. The money that was supposed to be for the benefit of every Juan lands on the dirty hands of the thieves like Janet Lim-Napoles who spends it on their luxury while some Filipinos suffer during the calamities due to the unfinished infrastructures that were so-called funded by the government. That’s the reason why the Filipinos think that it’s time to chop the pork down.

                The third one he met wears a sando and shorts. He asked him, “Why do the Filipinos hate me so much?” The Filipinos looked at him and for five minutes, he took a deep stare on the wind. The pig asked again him but he didn’t say a word. For the third time, the pig asked him and finally the Filipino answered. He told him, “Actually, I don’t really know and I don’t really care.”

                There are Filipinos who are ignorant about the “Pork Barrel” issue. There are some that doesn’t really care about what it might do to them. They don’t know what they give and what they get from it. They are naïve of what’s going on around them. There are even some Filipinos who take the “Pork Barrel” literally and think that it’s bad because it brings cholesterol. They don’t know that each of us takes part on this scam that we have come to know.

                Just like the three different Filipinos, there are also three different perceptions-the one for the rich, the one for the middle class and the one for the poor.  No matter what it is, we have to know that we have our own part and responsibility towards this “Pork Barrel” scam. We just need to open our eyes, unlock our voices and awaken our minds. Ask the pig in Corruptionapolis on why he kept on asking why we hate him. Do you want to know? It’s because he wants to be in heaven.