Youngblood : First bribe
http://news.inq7.net/opinion/index.php?index=2&story_id=71025&col=127
First posted 01:11am (Mla time) Mar 30, 2006
By Luis R. Buenaventura III
Inquirer
Editor's Note: Published on Page A13 of the March 30, 2006 issue of the Philippine Daily Inquirer
IT'S official. I just paid my first bribe.
Exiting the Edsa highway's tunnel underneath the Shaw Boulevard interchange in Mandaluyong City, I had turned right to SM Megamall when a man in uniform suddenly came running toward me. Slowly, the excitement that was meant to be savored on the day my dad finally allowed me to use the car faded, and chills went up my spine.
The man was a traffic enforcer of the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority and he cited me for a traffic violation I had not heard of before: "swerving." Without much ado, the questioning began. He did all the talking. I was all ears, but what I was hearing was all babble. My only concern was how to get out of the fix and crafting a good explanation to my parents. Like a hapless fool, I reached for my wallet and, on cue, slipped a week's worth of allowance into his black leather case.
Five years after that first episode, I recall doing the same thing at least two more times. Each time, I congratulated myself for getting down to the "real" business very easily. I must have been inspired by scenes from Hollywood movies where wily crooks bought themselves out of trouble without hesitation or fear. But I swear that I didn't progress to committing felony in my entire life.
It felt like only yesterday when my values education teacher in elementary school described corrupt people as hideous beasts. And I couldn't believe when I realized that I had become one.
The reality was brought home to me when I hitched a ride with a friend. She was caught going the wrong way on a one-way street. To cut a long story short, she extricated herself from the fix the same way I did on those three previous occasions. I felt like I was looking at myself in the mirror.
She gave me the same excuse that sounds so reasonable: "I'm a busy person. There are more important things for me to do than go through the hassle of making everything legal. Besides, a couple of hundred bucks won't hurt a bit, would it? In fact, everybody goes home happy. The traffic officer earns a little extra to augment his meager salary. And heaven knows, I won't do it ever again."
I had heard it before. But still I was a bit shocked by her action and her attempt to justify it. She was well respected in our circle of friends. She was upright. She was a good person!
Then it hit me: How many "good" people out there actually succumb to the temptation to engage in such a dishonest practice?
Feeling the pangs of guilt, I resolved to do the right thing the next time something similar happened. I told myself that the next time I got caught violating traffic rules, I would surrender my license and calmly engage the apprehending traffic officer in polite discourse.
When it finally happened, I got more than what I bargained for. The officer returned my license, without hinting at some consideration, although he gave me a brief lecture on traffic rules and safety.
But even this feel-good anecdote was not received well by my friends. They told me that talking at some length with a traffic officer late at night was a very risky thing to do. "That was stupid," they said. "You never know what crazy things public officials are capable of these days."
To be fair, I do see their point. I mean I should give serious thought to their concern, seeing how many heinous crimes are being committed these days.
But I also realize that this growing tolerance is being promoted by "good" people who don't think twice before giving small bribes. In the larger scheme of things, this wicked propensity to go for the "quick fix" is borne out of frustration over greater societal ills like poverty, the absence of peace and security, and corruption in high places.
In his practical book on nation-building, titled "12 Little Things Every Filipino Can Do To Help Our Country," lawyer Alexander Ledesma Lacson urges respect for the traffic officer, soldier and other public servants.
I have had five traffic encounters since I resolved to do things the right way. And I must say I got my license back every time, without paying a bribe. Integrity, like barbarity, is reciprocated even out there in the streets.
Even someone as ordinary as I am can actually do something about our nation's most serious problems after all. For one thing, corruption can be reduced, and, as Lacson said, this can begin by respecting traffic officers.
If treating them with respect doesn't get me back my license, so be it. I just have to go through the more cumbersome legal process of getting it back. It's not easy. But it's plainly my civic duty.
Luis R. Buenaventura III, 25, is a project analyst at Lufthansa Technik Philippines.
http://news.inq7.net/opinion/index.php?index=2&story_id=71025&col=127
First posted 01:11am (Mla time) Mar 30, 2006
By Luis R. Buenaventura III
Inquirer
Editor's Note: Published on Page A13 of the March 30, 2006 issue of the Philippine Daily Inquirer
IT'S official. I just paid my first bribe.
Exiting the Edsa highway's tunnel underneath the Shaw Boulevard interchange in Mandaluyong City, I had turned right to SM Megamall when a man in uniform suddenly came running toward me. Slowly, the excitement that was meant to be savored on the day my dad finally allowed me to use the car faded, and chills went up my spine.
The man was a traffic enforcer of the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority and he cited me for a traffic violation I had not heard of before: "swerving." Without much ado, the questioning began. He did all the talking. I was all ears, but what I was hearing was all babble. My only concern was how to get out of the fix and crafting a good explanation to my parents. Like a hapless fool, I reached for my wallet and, on cue, slipped a week's worth of allowance into his black leather case.
Five years after that first episode, I recall doing the same thing at least two more times. Each time, I congratulated myself for getting down to the "real" business very easily. I must have been inspired by scenes from Hollywood movies where wily crooks bought themselves out of trouble without hesitation or fear. But I swear that I didn't progress to committing felony in my entire life.
It felt like only yesterday when my values education teacher in elementary school described corrupt people as hideous beasts. And I couldn't believe when I realized that I had become one.
The reality was brought home to me when I hitched a ride with a friend. She was caught going the wrong way on a one-way street. To cut a long story short, she extricated herself from the fix the same way I did on those three previous occasions. I felt like I was looking at myself in the mirror.
She gave me the same excuse that sounds so reasonable: "I'm a busy person. There are more important things for me to do than go through the hassle of making everything legal. Besides, a couple of hundred bucks won't hurt a bit, would it? In fact, everybody goes home happy. The traffic officer earns a little extra to augment his meager salary. And heaven knows, I won't do it ever again."
I had heard it before. But still I was a bit shocked by her action and her attempt to justify it. She was well respected in our circle of friends. She was upright. She was a good person!
Then it hit me: How many "good" people out there actually succumb to the temptation to engage in such a dishonest practice?
Feeling the pangs of guilt, I resolved to do the right thing the next time something similar happened. I told myself that the next time I got caught violating traffic rules, I would surrender my license and calmly engage the apprehending traffic officer in polite discourse.
When it finally happened, I got more than what I bargained for. The officer returned my license, without hinting at some consideration, although he gave me a brief lecture on traffic rules and safety.
But even this feel-good anecdote was not received well by my friends. They told me that talking at some length with a traffic officer late at night was a very risky thing to do. "That was stupid," they said. "You never know what crazy things public officials are capable of these days."
To be fair, I do see their point. I mean I should give serious thought to their concern, seeing how many heinous crimes are being committed these days.
But I also realize that this growing tolerance is being promoted by "good" people who don't think twice before giving small bribes. In the larger scheme of things, this wicked propensity to go for the "quick fix" is borne out of frustration over greater societal ills like poverty, the absence of peace and security, and corruption in high places.
In his practical book on nation-building, titled "12 Little Things Every Filipino Can Do To Help Our Country," lawyer Alexander Ledesma Lacson urges respect for the traffic officer, soldier and other public servants.
I have had five traffic encounters since I resolved to do things the right way. And I must say I got my license back every time, without paying a bribe. Integrity, like barbarity, is reciprocated even out there in the streets.
Even someone as ordinary as I am can actually do something about our nation's most serious problems after all. For one thing, corruption can be reduced, and, as Lacson said, this can begin by respecting traffic officers.
If treating them with respect doesn't get me back my license, so be it. I just have to go through the more cumbersome legal process of getting it back. It's not easy. But it's plainly my civic duty.
Luis R. Buenaventura III, 25, is a project analyst at Lufthansa Technik Philippines.
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