“Gandahan nyo ang meme ko (make sure my memes look nice),” said public works contractor Sarah Discaya to members of the press running after her as she went to the Department of Justice on Saturday. She was being evaluated as a possible state witness in the investigation into massive anomalies in the government’s massive flood control scandal.
Perhaps feeling especially dainty in a floral dress, Ms. Discaya flashed a finger-heart sign, a fixture in Korean dramas, while flashing a schoolgirl smile for the cameras.
It was enough to make many Filipinos retch.
Discaya first rose to prominence when she sought the mayorship of Pasig City earlier this year. Around that time, there were already rumblings about her close and direct ties to several companies that had contracting ties with the government. She ran those companies with her husband, Curlee. Several interviews also caught them talking wistfully about their humble beginnings and then bragging about their fleet of 40 cars.
Since then, the couple has been much maligned. Their scandalous lifestyle, coupled with revelations of their participation in government projects that are either substandard or nonexistent, have made them easy targets for an angry public so worn down by the daily struggles of economic survival. On several occasions, people threw mud on the exterior of their Pasig City offices. They were made the subject of comedic skits, the impersonations now running for weeks.
Even the couple’s behavior during breaks in the congressional hearings – writing on pieces of paper, for instance, or downing sugary beverages despite being diabetic – has been made the subject of ridicule. There have been many memes about the Discayas from a populace so scandalized, so traumatized, and so well versed in the ways of new media.
It was likely Ms. Discaya’s way of getting back at those who have made them into caricatures, even as she now says it was her gesture when she was campaigning. Fortunately, the DOJ is taking these actuations against her as a sign of insincerity and complacency. Allowing such individuals to continue enjoying their luxuries obtained from the toil of ordinary citizens is way beyond unjust.
The depth and extent of the public works plunder – not limited to a single province or to flood-control projects – has stirred Filipinos’ emotions in a different way. It tells us that corruption happens whoever is in power, that corruption is done by individuals of different political persuasions, that having a lot does not deter anyone from wanting more.
And so we register our disgust.
But we should do so much more than voice our anger on social media or even take to the streets any given day. We should be vigilant enough, not only to follow the televised hearings or register reactions on social media. We should follow the progress of the investigations and sustain the clamor for good governance at all levels of government. Finally, we should remember those whose greed knows no bounds, who present themselves as champions of the people while enriching themselves at the expense of people’s safety. We should take note who they are and refuse to bring them back to the government next time around.
Otherwise, we ourselves would well be the subject of our own ridicule, bringing our misery and tragedy upon ourselves even after we have complained and raged against them.
