Filipino culture celebrates the "Juan Tamad" figure, who becomes successful in his life through deceit, trickery and cunning instead of hard work. The story of Juan Tamad is hardly ever told to children anymore, thankfully, but the values imparted by that story permeate Filipino culture.
There are people who dupe cellular carriers and credit card companies by defaulting on their debts, and are proud of doing so, as if their actions should be emulated. They brag about it on social media and inspire copycats who want in on the action. In response, the same cellular carriers and credit card companies tighten regulations, making life difficult for the rest of us honest folk.
Filipino culture condones criminal behavior. When people break rules or act selfishly, it is seen as wrong only if they get caught. I personally notice this more among people from Luzon than from down south, though.
Filipino culture also emphasizes pragmatism. Taken on its own, it's benign, but people are often pragmatic to the detriment of others. The "cutting lines" example is a small-scale event, but is a good example of how people tend to unjustly put themselves first over others, which brings me to the point about upbringing.
Upbringing
The "every man for himself" mentality I mentioned above is taught to children at a very young age by parents who have felt the sting of callous betrayal from other people who have also been taught the same thing, creating a kind of national tragedy of the commons.
I've noticed that children who grow up being taught to help others are, by and large, much less likely to engage in corrupt activities, because they have been taught to help and not to hinder or hurt others. They have a greater sense of respect for others ingrained into them by their parents.
However, children who are taught the "selfish" mentality and those who are taught the "selfless" mentality also tend to come from vastly different socio-economic backgrounds, which transitions nicely into my next point
Socio-economic Background
Children in families living at or below the poverty level are much more likely to be taught to strive to get rich, regardless of the means. While the parents instilling these values correctly identify that poverty is the problem, they tend to emphasize material enrichment much more than enrichment of values.
Multi-generational poverty may also teach a child that there is no way out of their situation and that the "right" way to act is the way that benefits them the most, entirely inconsiderate of others.
Children in families who can afford to have a few luxuries see no driving need to strive for wealth, as they're already well-off. That does not automatically mean they're "selfless", as I put it earlier, but they're much less likely to be taught that their fellow man has to be put down for them to get ahead, because they're already ahead.
Peer Groups
As I mentioned earlier, people who engage in corrupt behavior also tend to be proud of their actions. Whether it's due to a lack of attention or a genuine conviction that what they're doing is justly "sticking it to the man", they brag about it on social media, internet forums, and in conversations with other people.
Since we know that people tend to be influenced by those around them, people who listen to the ones who brag about their corrupt behavior are prone to thinking that these actions are somehow excusable. They may question the point of acting uprightly when crooked people end up living better lives than them. This leads to the cycle perpetuating, where people who get ahead through corruption preach their ways to others who then promptly do the same thing.
Media Representation of Corruption
Filipino media tends to show corrupt people as rich. From telenovelas to the news, whenever a corrupt person is shown, pains are taken to emphasize their wealth. The media may think that doing this drives public opinion against these people, but it also sends the message to their viewers that to get rich, you must be corrupt.
So what?
Given all of these, I think that the root of the problem is poverty. When people are poor, they teach their children to get rich, no matter what. When people are poor, they have limited access to quality educational services, which can lift them out of poverty and can provide a better environment to nurture their personal values.
The solution to all of this is education. For the poor, quality education provides a way out of poverty while also fostering good core values on a child. School may also correct any parental misguidance that may be wrongly taught to a child.
Once a child has grown up with a good education and is able to lift themselves and their families out of poverty, they will want their own children to avoid going through the same things they went through and hence avoid teaching them to acquire wealth by any means necessary. That does not necessarily mean that this will make them compassionate, but it will reduce the likelihood that they screw other people over for a quick buck.
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