Corruption - Deal or No Deal?

Why Is There So Much Corruption?

"YOU ARE NOT TO ACCEPT A BRIBE, FOR THE BRIBE BLINDS CLEAR-SIGHTED MEN AND CAN DISTORT THE WORDS OF RIGHTEOUS MEN."—Exodus 23:8.

THREE thousand five hundred years ago, the Law of Moses condemned bribery. Over the centuries since then, anticorruption laws have proliferated. Nevertheless, legislation has not succeeded in curbing corruption. Millions of bribes change hands every day, and billions of people suffer the consequences.

Corruption has grown so widespread and sophisticated that it threatens to undermine the very fabric of society. In some countries almost nothing gets done unless a palm is greased. A bribe to the right person will enable one to pass an exam, get a driver's license, land a contract, or win a lawsuit. "Corruption is like a heavy pollution that weighs on people's spirits," laments Arnaud Montebourg, a Paris lawyer.

Bribery runs especially rampant in the world of commerce. Some companies allocate a third of all their profits just to pay off corrupt government bureaucrats. According to the British magazine The Economist, as much as 10 percent of the $25 billion spent every year in international arms trade serves to bribe potential customers. As the scale of this corruption has increased, the consequences have become catastrophic. During the last decade, "crony" capitalism—corrupt business practices that favor the privileged few who have good connections—is said to have ruined the economies of entire countries.

Inevitably, the ones who suffer most from corruption and the economic devastation it spawns are the poor—the ones who are rarely in a position to bribe anyone. As The Economist succinctly put it, "corruption is but one form of oppression." Can this type of oppression be overcome, or is corruption inescapable? To answer that question, we must first identify some of the fundamental causes of corruption.

What Are the Causes of Corruption?

Why do people choose to be corrupt rather than honest? For some, being corrupt may be the easiest way—or indeed the only way—to get what they want. At times, a bribe may provide a convenient means of avoiding punishment. Many who observe that politicians, policemen, and judges seem to ignore corruption or even practice it themselves merely follow their example.
As corruption snowballs, it becomes more acceptable until it is finally a way of life. People with pitifully low wages come to feel that they have no option. They have to demand bribes if they want to make a decent living. And when those who extort bribes or pay them to gain an unfair advantage go unpunished, few are prepared to swim against the tide. "Because sentence against a bad work has not been executed speedily, that is why the heart of the sons of men has become fully set in them to do bad," observed King Solomon.—Ecclesiastes 8:11.

Two powerful forces keep stoking the fires of corruption: selfishness and greed. Because of selfishness, corrupt people turn a blind eye to the suffering that their corruption inflicts on others, and they justify bribery simply because they benefit from it. The more material benefits they amass, the greedier those practicers of corruption become. "A mere lover of silver will not be satisfied with silver," observed Solomon, "neither any lover of wealth with income." (Ecclesiastes 5:10) Granted, greed may be good for making money, but it invariably winks at corruption and illegality.

Another factor that should not be overlooked is the role of the invisible ruler of this world, whom the Bible identifies as Satan the Devil. (1 John 5:19; Revelation 12:9) Satan actively promotes corruption. The biggest bribe on record was the one Satan offered to Christ. 'I will give you all the kingdoms of the world if you fall down and do an act of worship to me.'—Matthew 4:8, 9.
(Source: http://www.watchtower.org/)

Places Worth Remembering . . .

Mao ni mga lugara na naadto-an na nako. Agwantaha lag tan-aw kay ako lang pud antoson, yeheeeeh!

This is Waig Inland Resort somewhere in Bukidnon. We were here together with my fellow teachers and peers last year, I guess las December during our teambuilding activity. I enjoyed a lot of being there. It was my first time to have a vacation like it with other companions aside from my family and friends. It was really an unforgettable experience of my life.

This is the sliding board, (tama ba). During the morning in second day of stay there, I together with Client, we climbed up to the top and made some videos of the outstanding scenes. You will truly feel relax and ease when you stay and visit here. It's very cool and you will temporarily forget your problems here. Kung puwede pa lang gani unta, di na ko mo-uli pero expensive pud gamay ang bayad sa accomodation. But you will never regret of being there because of it's very cool ambiance.

This is front view of the Bethel home in SFDM, Quezon City where I stayed for 2 months for a training wayback in 1998. This is where I learned many things to become matured spiritually. I really appreciate the provisions which were given to us by the organization, specially in bountiful spiritual nourishment which equipped me to face the challenges in life and to be able to help my fellow brothers in our congregation and of course, those who are thirst in the water of life, the truth about God's word and Jehovah's kingdom.

This is the beautiful province of Nueva Ecija where I had gone for 5 days together with Fe, my close friend. It was after our class in Bethel, after our graduation, she invited me to go there. I went there and I really loved the place because of its warm atmosphere. Ilocano ti sarita ti residents iddyay. They were talking in Iloco as they were thinking that I didn't understand them, di ko nila mabaligya kay na-aw-awatak isoda uray haan unay. Simply because my father is Ilocano. Di ko malimutan si Ate Neng na palagi kong pinagkatuwaan kasi niloloko niya ako sa iloco, naiintindihan ko naman, kawawa siya kase di sya nakakaintindi ng bisaya. Tagm! Di gyod nako malimtan ang ako pag-adto didto lugara where I delivered a Public Talk in English at Tagalog.

What is the Best Teacher?

Experience Is the Best Teacher
Summary: The essay outlines why studying is only part of the complete learning process, using examples from law and real life. Practical experience in a field or subject is the final step in mastering it, because certain tasks cannot be done effectively without practice and hands-on experience.
Instant Correct Practice makes perfect.
Are you prepared to be operated on by a surgeon who has read all about it in books but has never done it before? Have you had your car repaired by someone reading from a manual but who has never been an apprentice? No! Good morning Chair and members of the audience. We define experience as direct personal participation. We define best as most excellent and we define teacher as someone or something that teaches others.

My first example about why experience is the best teacher is because you may be trained extremely well but without experience you are likely to do worse than a person with less training but a lot of experience. My second example is about our law system. My final example is about some real-life experiences.

If a child touched an iron and was burnt by it, he or she is more likely to remember not to do such a thing in future than another who is told time and time again not to touch it. Many times, as teachers would know, when you teach a pupil something on one day and he nods his head and says "yes I know", and ask him the next day, there is a high chance that he has forgotten. However if he has learned it by an experiment or by experience, he is likely to remember for a very long time, sometimes even to adulthood. There is nothing better than experience - experience is the best teacher.

We gain this through our lives and by putting ourselves in different live situations to get it. We can read about how to debate but it is never as adequate as the experience of it, standing in front of an attentive audience, conscious of saying the right thing, even feeling self-conscious and embarrassed but having done this several times, gaining the experience to deal with it and to improve from it. We try saying the debate to ourselves, to our colleagues and family before coming here today just to get the experience!

Instant Correct Practice makes perfect.
To my second example, our law system is based upon experience through punishment. Take for example a criminal being sentenced to five years imprisonment. He will be less likely to commit such a crime in future because of this.

My third and final example of why experience is the best teacher is you cannot be a barrister, a doctor or an engineer as soon as you finish University. You have to become an articles clerk, an intern or an apprentice to get sufficient experience first. You have to get a L or P driver's license before you gain sufficient experience to obtain a full license. Experience is most definitely the best teacher.

First Day of the Second Row . . .

Today is the first day of the second semester for this school year but I feel bored because there are no students, morag wa pud giganahan, hahahha! We are only talking about a lot of things in connection to our responsibilities as mentors to our studs and to ourselves, yehheeeh! Kapoy man gud ning walay klase kung wa kay buhaton. Perte man gud pud iganga ang fac rum, luoy na lang ta ni, gisilotan lagi, yeheeeh! Unsa na pud kaha ang among atubangon karung na semester sa among mga klase. Naa pay subject nako na wa didto, wa diri, makayabag ug hunahuna kay walay libro. Gamit na lang tag internet ani, suyaa bitaw ning walay reference bisag isa na lang unta. Wa tay mahimo kay pag-buot man ni sa CHED na mga subject, wa pud tawon nila gipakapinan ug mga libro. Tagam! Hahay buhay teacher! Congrats sa ako. Nganong mi-enter! Good for me - Mao ni angay nako! Tagam,yeheeeeh!

Kick Off Meeting

I was in Davao City, in Cabantian, Buhangin for our kick off meeting last Monday, Nov. 3, for the forthcoming District Convention this December 12 - 14, 2008. Dugay pa gyod ko nakaabot kay alas 12:30 as udto na ko nakalarga, hinay pa gyod modagan ang bus, yayay kaayo kay na-late gyod ko ug abot sa meeting. Utro pud diay ang akong overseer, heheheh, late pud diay. I went to GMall for the repair of my cp but they need a receipt and so, I need to go back to Globe Tagum for the receipt. Balik na pud kog Davao para ihatod ang ila kinahanglan. Balik2 pud ta ani, morag daghag kuwarta . . .

Children on the Street

"Our children on the street, I have seen tears that fallen down from their face, it's hard to see." This is the portion of the song that I have composed during my first year in college in the Humanities subject with Mr. Tado as our teacher. We were required to create an original lyrics of a song using any existing songs. I have chosen the song "Aubrey" by the America because of its solemn tune.

I love the song that I was inspired to change its original lyrics into lyrics that focused on the lives of street children. Sometimes, we are irritated to see these children because of their physical appearance, stinky, and dirty. They will asking for money or food while we are eating in a carenderia or having our snacks in a refreshment. When we hand something to them, other street children will be in parade to ask for more. (Louy man unta pero lagot lang pud kung ingon ana na ang sitwasyon.)

Unfortunately, there are children also who are used by syndicates to earn money. It's pity to think that these young ones are trying very hard to earn money for that day because if not, they will be punished by their handlers, (Kawawang mga linalang.) We can do nothing but to help these individuals instead, and put them into the right institutions which will take care of them and provide the biggest opportunities they are supposed to enjoy.

At Last . . . Yeheeh!

At last, naka-adto na gyod mi sa gingharian ni inahan, Mother Lily, today. It was after the 2nd General Assembly of Aces Colleges System held at APC, Panabo City. I enjoyed being there together with Maam Maybelle, Maam Alona, and Maam Leni. Perte namong busoga kay nag-sugba mi ug karneng baboy with all the ingredients, hangak ayo pag-uli kay busog kaayo mi, congrats sa among upat, hehehe!