Crime, corruption, inflation
President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Romualdez Marcos Jr. should stop being the Mr. Nice Guy of the Philippines. He should start taking decisive, even harsh actions on the following: 1. A creeping crime wave 2. Rampant corruption 3. A stubborn raging inflation
Crime wave In just 17 days this year, there have been four highprofile political assassination attempts; three of them in just five days. Sixteen victims died during the four attacks, including the governor of large Cebuano-speaking province (1.5 million population) and a town mayor.
At 9:45 am. of Saturday, March 4, masked killers in army uniforms and brandishing high-powered firearms barged into the residential compound of Negros Oriental Gov. Roel Degamo and killed him on the spot, together with six other bystanders. The murders were captured by CCTV.
On Feb, 17, Lanao del Sur Gov. Mamintal Adiong was ambushed. The governor survived the assassination attempt but his driver and three police escorts died.
On Feb. 19, the vice mayor of Aparri, Cagayan, Rommel Alameda, and five companions, were killed in an ambush.
On Feb. 22, Maguindanao del Sur Mayor Ohto Caumbo Montawal was wounded when two gunmen fired at his vehicle in busy Pasay City.
In the national capital, way back in August 2022, there were reports of “serial killers and gang members using a white van were behind several reported cases of murders and other crimes.”
In June 2022, President Duterte’s last month, there were 15,651 index and non-index crimes, per newspaper reports. In July 2022, BBM’s first month, 30,802 index and non-index crimes were reported. Index or focus crimes include: murder, homicide, physical injury, rape, and car theft. Index crimes do not large-scale corruption like smuggling and the plunder of pork barrel.
The Philippine National Police (PNP) website reports a whole-year crime stats, but only for the year 2021– of 37,842 index crimes and 185,550 non-index crimes for a total of 223,392 crime volume or an unbelievable crime volume per day of – only 612 crimes (for a nation of 114 million) during 2021.
No wonder, last month (February), PNP Chief Azurin had the temerity to assert that “the spate of attacks on local government executives is not that alarming yet.” These are isolated cases. “I would say na hindi pa alarming kasi dini-determine nga natin dahil iba-iba ‘yung mga situation, iba-iba ‘yung mga reason bakit pinatay itong mga ito (which is not yet alarming because the situations are different, the reasons why these people were killed are different). Sabi ko nga (As I said) it’s either political, personal, business rivalry or other reason why these killings are happening.”
Corruption
On March 1, Valeriano Ricaplaza, a screening officer of the Office for Transportation Security was arrested on charges of stealing the smartwatch of a Hong Kong-bound Chinese tourist at the NAIA Terminal 1. Reports said closed-circuit television footage showed the Chinese placing his watch and other personal items on a tray for x-ray screening at the departure area.
On Feb, 22, five other OTS employees who were shown in a viral video pocketing 20,000 yen from a Thai tourist at the NAIA Terminal 2. When confronted by the tourist, the five returned the cash. The Thai’s woman companion videoed the whole pilferage and attempt to return the money.
In less than a year, BBM has had three Customs chiefs – Rey Leonardo Guerrero (a holdover from Duterte since 2018), Yogi Filemon Ruiz, from July 25, 2022, and Bienvenido Rubio, from Feb. 13, 2023. Why?
“Customs are often perceived as one of the most corrupt institutions in developing countries,” said the World Bank in 2020. “Addressing the root causes of corruption goes beyond legal reforms, code of ethics or IT system upgrades,” argues the lender.
Inflation
I talked briefly with President BBM during the DTI’s CITEM “Tanyag” dinner last March 3, to honor the foreign governments and partners in Manila’s export program. He was clearly worried about inflation. “It’s hurting people,” he said. Across the table was the government’s chief inflation fighter, Bangko Sentral Governor Felipe Medalla, radiant in his enigmatic smile, and Trade Secretary Fred Pascual, patrician in his white hair.
Indeed, inflation is the biggest thief of them all. In 2022, households spent a whopping P16.72 trillion buying all kinds of goods and services.
Consumers spent P6.2 trillion on food and nonalcohol drinks; P2.08 trillion on electricity, water and other utilities; P1.5 trillion on transportation; P1.16 trillion in restaurants and hotels, P835 billion on tuition, P716 billion on health care, P464 billion on household furnishings, and P2.298 trillion on many other things.
If inflation were to rage at 9 percent (the estimate for February), that is equivalent to P1.5 trillion being taken away from your pockets for buying the same volume of goods and same quality of services.
Imagine that: P1.5 trillion being taken away from you, yearly by inflation. Which inflation by the way is aided or made worse, in large part, by crime and corruption.
Were it not for corruption at Customs and other places, prices of major food items (on which the Filipino spends P6.1 trillion a year) would be much, much, much cheaper.
In 2022, the inflation rate on sugar was 38.8 percent; vegetables 37.8 percent; corn 16 percent; flour and bakery products 11.3 percent; milk and other dairy products 11.3 percent; meat 7 percent; and fast foods 9.2 percent. Total food inflation: 8.7 percent.
So there Mr. President. The enemy is defined. It’s CCI – crime, corruption, and inflation. Individually or together, all three have the potential to bring down a sitting government, no matter how immensely popular.
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