Senate Minority Leader Alan Peter Cayetano has urged government officials, business executives, youth representatives and religious leaders to make integrity central to their leadership, saying the government must acknowledge past failures and correct them to address corruption.
In a Facebook livestream on Oct. 7, Cayetano described the fight against dishonesty and corruption as a continuing struggle, emphasizing that reform should focus on correcting wrongdoing rather than simply blaming individuals.
“There is a spiritual war that is happening. Honesty versus dishonesty. Integrity versus kawalan ng integrity. So we want to fix our government? It’s not about the sinner. It’s about the sin,” Cayetano said.
“So to myself, to the Senate, to all the leaders – business leaders, youth leaders, religious leaders: let’s make integrity central to us. As I say it to you, I say it to myself,” he added.
Cayetano cited the flood control scandal as the culmination of corrupt practices across successive administrations, saying authorities must address questionable and nonexistent projects before relying solely on new transparency measures.
He renewed his proposal for the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) to compile a master list of all previous flood control projects and require district engineers and local officials to photograph each completed project.
Under his proposal, the absence of photographic documentation would indicate a possible ghost project that authorities should investigate.
“Kunan lang [ng litrato] lahat ng projects, may listahan ka lang, and by now, you should know which one is ghost at hindi,” he said.
Cayetano also questioned the pace and consistency of the investigation, noting that authorities had yet to provide an exact list of ghost projects after a year. He warned against scrutinizing certain areas while leaving others largely unchecked.
“So hindi mo masisi ang tao kung nagtatanong, ‘ano ba ang nangyayari d’yan?’ Because after a year, hindi pa maibigay eksakto y’ung listahan [ng ghost projects], and then may mga lugar na pinag-iinitan, may mga lugar naman na parang hindi tinitignan. So again, it goes back to what? Integrity,” he said.
He also connected his call for accountability to the observance of World Teachers’ Day, urging the government to reassess the implementation of the K to 12 education program.
Cayetano said officials must determine whether the government can adequately fund the program and deliver its intended benefits to students. If it cannot, he said, authorities should acknowledge the shortcomings and consider more fundamental changes, including returning to the previous curriculum.
“When we say K to 12, let’s look in the mirror and say, kaya ba natin ibigay ito sa mga bata? Kung hindi, let’s admit our mistake and fix it,” he said.
Cayetano concluded by challenging the public to examine how integrity applies not only to government but also to personal relationships and workplace responsibilities.
“We have to ask ourselves, sa buhay ba natin, do we have integrity? Ang gobyerno ba natin may integrity? Ang relationships ba natin may integrity? Y’ung pagtatrabaho po ba natin sa ating boss, do we do it with integrity?” he said.
Photo courtesy of Inquirer.net
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