There’s a number that haunts me: $48 billion. That’s how much the World Bank estimated the Philippines lost to corruption between 1977 and 1997. Forty-eight billion dollars—P2.7 trillion, gone. Not just in currency, but in dignity, in roads never built, classrooms never filled, lives never lifted. It’s not just a statistic. It’s a wound.
And within that wound lies another: the US$5-10 billion in ill-gotten wealth attributed to the Marcos family during the final years of the dictatorship. That figure, widely accepted across sources, is not separate from the $48 billion—it is part and parcel of it. A dynasty’s plunder embedded in a nation’s suffering.
Now decades later, chilling symmetry emerges. The P1.9-trillion flood control corruption scandal, sprawling across fifteen years, eerily mirrors the World Bank’s estimate. One scandal marked by the father—Marcos Sr., etched in history for epic plunder. The other unfolding under the son—Marcos Jr., who now seeks redemption for a legacy that refuses to stay buried. Different decades, same surname. And the question that echoes louder than ever: Can a name once synonymous with corruption become a banner of atonement? Or will history simply repeat itself?
Not Vision But Survival
So, when President Bongbong Marcos (BBM) publicly explained his entry into politics— “our own survival required that somebody would go into politics”—I paused. Not because it was surprising, but because it was so starkly honest. His motive, by his own admission, was not national renewal, but personal defense. Not vision, but survival.
And yet, here we are. Standing waist-deep in a P1.9-trillion scandal, nearly matching the scale of past losses. Nothing new? Nothing changed? The names may differ, the figures may swell, but the anatomy of betrayal remains eerily familiar. Congress may convene hearings. A commission may be formed. Statements may be issued.
But beyond the ritual of accountability, the deeper question lingers like floodwaters that refuses to recede. Where is the vision? Not the reactive gesture. Not the procedural fix. But the kind of moral compass that can steer a nation out of its own decay.
Vision Is Not A Luxury—It Is A Lifeblood
The Book of Proverbs says it plainly.
A true leader must offer more than damage control. He must offer moral clarity, atonement, and a path forward. If BBM truly seeks to restore his father’s legacy, let it begin not with denial, but with public acceptance, apology, and restitution. Let it be shaped not by nostalgia, but by repentance.
And let that repentance fuel a deeper revolt—not just against corruption, but against the Godless system that enables it.
The Godless System and the Everyday Bait
In government offices like the DPWH, corruption is not abstract. It’s intimate. A worker offered a bribe must choose—between God and money. And too often, money wins.
Former President Duterte once mocked this choice, asking, “Who is this stupid God?” And the crowd laughed. But the laughter masked a deeper tragedy: the normalization of moral collapse.
Bishop Soc's Revolt of the Soul
Bishop Soc Villegas said it best.
This is the vision we need. A God-believing, God-loving, God-fearing system. Not imposed from above, but awakened from within. A system where integrity is not performative, but personal. Where civic duty is not transactional, but sacred.
Atonement As Vision
To dismantle the Godless system that has long corroded our institutions, we must begin not with slogan, but with acts of atonement. And no act would be more symbolic—more consequential—than for BBM to lead by example—not through denial or deflection, but through restitution.
The unpaid P203-billion estate tax, long upheld by the Supreme Court, is more than a legal obligation. It is a moral crossroad. Settling it would not only fulfill the law—it would signal a willingness to reconcile with history, to honor the truth, and to lead with integrity.
And integrity, in this wounded nation, is not an abstraction. It is lived and longed for in the quiet corners of ordinary lives—like Allan’s.
Allan's Story: A Taxpayer’s Plea Beneath the Weight of Illness
Allan shared his story in my ATABAY blog.
When he approached the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) to plead for compassion, he carried more than documents. His son had endured 14 years of hemodialysis, and Allan himself faced prostate and thyroid surgeries, an angiogram, and P500,000 in looming medical costs. Their monthly expenses reached P50,000, and every peso mattered.
The P278,000 penalty he faced stemmed from a delayed title transfer—an error not of his own making. His Steeltown property was modest. He explained. He pleaded.
But the BIR head was unmoved: Pay it by any means necessary.
Seeking help elsewhere. Allan applied for free dialysis through the Malasakit program. He was denied. You have a decent house and a car, they told him. Malasakit is for the poorest of the poor.
And so, yielded, Allan paid what he could. He bore what he must.
His story is not just a lament—it is a mirror. Behind every tax receipt is a life. And behind every life, a plea for dignity.
In a nation where corruption thrives on impunity, paying an unpaid tax debt by BBM would pierce through cynicism like light through storm clouds. It would speak to every citizen, like Allan, losing faith: There is a good way.
The Godless system isn’t just about missing funds—it’s about missing conscience. And if we are to replace it with a God-believing, God-loving, God-fearing system, then the first step must be taken by BBM. Not to preserve legacy, but to redeem it. Not to survive history, but to transform it.
Healing Our Nation
If BBM truly wishes to lead, let him begin not with legacy preservation, but with atonement. Let him dismantle the Godless system—not merely manage its fallout. Let him pay what is owed—not just in pesos, but in principle.
In this moment of crisis, vision is not optional—it is existential. It is the line between a nation that drifts in denial and a nation that dares to heal. Between survival of power and survival of conscience.
And if we, the people, fail to demand such vision, then we too must ask: Have we served two masters? Have we laughed with the mockers? Have we enabled the very system we claim to despise?
The rallying cry must rise beyond “Tama na!”
It must become “Tayo na—baguhin natin ang ating puso’t kaluluwa.”
Only then can we begin to heal not just our nation, but our soul.
Content & editing put together in collaboration with Bing Microsoft AI-powered Co-pilot
Head collage photos courtesy of Explained PH, Shopify, & Unsplash; design by Canva
Still photos courtesy of Common Dreams, iStock, The Guardian, NPR, Pngtree, Politiko North Luzon, Facebook, Vecteezy