By Antonio Contreras
On the Contrary
The Manila Times
August 28, 2025
CORRUPTION has always been the favorite punching bag of politicians in this country. It is the perennial topic of privilege speeches, the battle cry of reformists and the convenient moral high ground of those who want to score points against their rivals. And yet, it is also the one issue where hypocrisy festers the most, where indignation is often faux and where the loudest denunciations are delivered by those who themselves are unwilling to face the same standards.
We are witnessing this once again in the wake of Sen. Panfilo Lacson’s scathing privilege speech that exposed what he described as the tip of the iceberg of plunder, where flood control projects have become lucrative cash cows for unscrupulous politicians and contractors. Senators lined up to express outrage, wagging their fingers at the corruption they now suddenly pretend to abhor. Members of the House scrambled to explain, defend or downplay their alleged involvement. Yet, behind this display of righteous anger lies a troubling duplicity that is impossible to ignore. And as Lacson himself admitted, this rot could extend not just to the House, but to the Senate as well.
Take for instance the Diehard Duterte Supporters who now eagerly join the chorus of condemnation against the House members allegedly implicated in these flood control anomalies. These are the same people who, not too long ago, closed ranks to defend the Dutertes against allegations of corruption, whether it be President Rodrigo Duterte’s questionable deals with favored contractors, or Vice President Sara Duterte’s alleged misuse of confidential funds. But now, with their political opponents on the chopping block, they suddenly rediscover their moral compass.
The same hypocrisy can be seen in the Senate itself. Many of the senators who today posture as crusaders for accountability are the very same ones who voted to archive the impeachment complaint against Sara Duterte. They had the chance to prove their sincerity in holding public officials to account, but instead they chose to protect her. Some, including Senate President Francis Escudero, even went as far as trivializing the complaint, framing it not as a legitimate inquiry into the use of public funds but as nothing more than a political maneuver designed to weaken Duterte’s chances of reelection. Sen. Ronald Dela Rosa, who now perorates during the blue ribbon committee hearings about his supposed commitment to truth-seeking, was among those who wanted the complaint dismissed. What makes this even more galling is that the senator now presiding over the blue ribbon committee is the very same senator who even moved for its outright dismissal.
In the House, the situation is no better. Lawmakers are now preparing for their own investigation into the corruption surrounding flood control projects. Having impeached Sara Duterte for alleged questionable expenditures of her confidential funds, the House will now have to prove that it has the same determination to pursue the truth in relation to the involvement of some of its members in these questionable flood control projects.
Ordinary citizens, even social media bloggers and vloggers, can be excused when we just talk and rant about corruption. After all, without formal authority and power, that is all we can do. It helps if we can expose anomalies in the limited ways available to us, posting complaints in the President’s website, documenting irregularities and amplifying voices. But elected officials and those in positions of power cannot hide behind words. They must do more than form advocacy groups, issue press releases or posture like content creators.
This is what sets apart Rep. Leandro Leviste. When he was offered a bribe, he did not just use the incident for political mileage. He quietly acted and had the culprit arrested.
That is the kind of decisive move that makes a dent against corruption. I wish the mayors and vice mayors now organizing for good governance would do the same.
I also cannot understand why there are people who rant endlessly about corruption but bristle when people like me demand hard evidence from whistleblowers. They gaslight us as if asking for proof is unreasonable. Shaming campaigns in social media do not work against the shameless and the callous. If we want to hold them accountable, we need to haul them to court or any quasi-judicial body that has the power to jail contractors and politicians. And to do this, we need evidence, not just noise.
The public deserves more than theatrics. We have seen this movie too many times: corruption scandal erupts, officials line up to express outrage, committees are formed, hearings are held, soundbites are delivered, and in the end, nothing changes. The cycle of faux indignation repeats, with only the cast of characters rotating as political winds shift.
The hypocrisy is particularly insidious because it corrodes not only the fight against corruption but the very notion of accountability itself. When indignation is wielded selectively, it reduces accountability to a political tactic rather than a principle. It teaches the public that corruption is not inherently wrong but only wrong when committed by the other side.
What is at stake here is not just the exposure of another scandal, but the credibility of the fight against corruption. If our legislators and local executives want to be taken seriously, they must demonstrate that no one is above scrutiny. They must abandon the double standard that shields some while skewering others. They must recognize that their credibility is not built on privilege speeches or media sound bites but on the consistency of their actions.
If corruption is truly to be confronted, it cannot be done with selective outrage. It requires the courage to call out even one’s own allies, the integrity to uphold accountability as a principle rather than a tactic and the humility to admit complicity when it exists. Otherwise, all we will get is more of the same: theatrics in the Senate, finger-pointing in the House, crocodile tears from supporters and billions of pesos slipping away into private pockets while the public is left to wade through the floods.
Disclosure: I am a professor at the University of the Philippines Los Baños and vice chairman of the board of the state-run PTV Network Inc.
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