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With the pork barrel scandal, Filipinos are just coming to terms with the widespread, entrenched, color-blind corruption that is eating our country.
And believing he has just the perfect solution, Senator Antonio Trillanes IV filed a bill seeking to increase the wages of government officials, including high-ranking ones, to eliminate corruption.
The proposal is to have a salary of P16,000 (from P9,000) for the lowest-ranking job grade, and P500,000 (from P120,000) for the President of the country.
Military personnel will be compensated between P23,000 to P282,800.
The vice president, Senate president and House speaker will have a salary of P432,800 while senators and House members will have a pay of P352,800.
The assumption is that higher wages would discourage them from engaging in anomalous behavior, involving amounts big and small.
This is an insult on the regular workers who last week marched in Mendiola demanding wage increases but were merely reminded by President Aquino to vote for his anointed one in the next elections.
The wage increase being sought by the workers has a far more legitimate objective—to enable them to meet the high prices of goods and services for their families’ daily sustenance.
In contrast, the reinforcement in high officials’ salary may prompt them to indulge in even greater luxury.
Working for the government has always had a reputation for not being a source of financial stability -- if you are doing everything above board, that is. Those who willingly enter this field should know that important fact at the outset.
And who says that even if they had a lot, these thieves in well-pressed suits would be content with what hey have?
“Due to the competitive compensation package, our public servants will no longer consider resorting to unscrupulous activities in order to augment their meager income, and, instead, focus their efforts and energy to public service, curbing corruption and cutting red tape,” Trillanes said.
He thinks he can read people’s minds and predict behavior.
What needs to be done to curb corruption is to strengthen the implementation of existing laws, reject the notion that only political enemies can be prosecuted, hasten the judicial process and put the guilty behind bars whether they are allies or foes.
High officials feel so entitled to stealing because they are never made to pay anyway. Let us strip them of that feeling of entitlement instead of rewarding them with more of our hard-earned taxpayers’ money when they are hardly doing the jobs they applied for in the first place.
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