Has
the Philippines any other distinction aside from dirty politics and tricked
elections?
It is indeed a
very bitter cup to admit that the Philippines has produced two of the most corrupt presidents among the worlds top ten.
Foremost of our embarassing Presidents was Ferdinand Emmanuel Edralin Marcos (1917-1989)
was the tenth President of the Philippines from 1965 to 1986. He was an
authoritarian and had great achievements in the infrastructure development,
land reforms, political and social reforms as well as in international
diplomacy. However, he was guilty of authoritarian corruption, despotism,
nepotism, political repression, and human right violations, benefiting from a
large personality cult in the Philippines during his reign. He along with his
wife took around US$5 billion to 10 billion from public funds to the United
States, Switzerland, and other states as well as spent illegally into other
corporations. Strange enough, there are many who consider him a hero.
Then there is Joseph
“Erap” Ejercito Estrada (born 1937) was the 13th President of the Philippines
from 1998 to 2001. He is the only Filipino president to have resigned from
office. Before joining politics, he was a popular and film actor who played a
lead role in 100 films and won awards for his performances. He looted around
US$ 78 million to 80 million in forged funds. But in 2007, he was granted an
unconditional pardon by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. He ran for elections
in 2010 but lost to the current Filipino Benigno Aquino III. Unabashed,
he is still active in the Philippine politics trying to make a comeback
perpormance.
Of course, they are not
alone in this unevyable fame. Our history, aside from being a well known
lineage of defrauded elections and corrupt politicians, is lined with corrupt
President. I makes one wonder how come the Filipinos has’nt waken up to this
truth. The results of the just concluded elections indicate the we are still too
drowsy to see what is going on right at the tip of our collective noses.
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