The Mafia (also known as "Cosa Nostra") is a Sicilian criminal society which is believed to have emerged in late 19th century Sicily.
It is a loose association of criminal groups that share a common
organizational structure and code of conduct. Each group, known as a
"family", "clan" or "cosca", claims sovereignty over a territory in which it operates its rackets – usually a town or village or a part of a larger city.
The Mafia has controlled everything from the street corner drug trade to the highest levels of government. Glorified by movies and television, hounded by law enforcement officials, marked for death by their enemies, mobsters live violent and often brief lives. The Mafia at its core is about one thing -- money.
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To its credit, however, certain types of crimes are forbidden by Cosa
Nostra. Mafiosi are generally forbidden from committing theft. This is
so unlike some of our government officials who, after getting huge
"SOPs", and cornering juicy government contracts (through dummies, of
course), still dip their dirty fingers at government coffers and
literally steal the people’s money. Truly, it seems that some of our
government officials’ greed is more intense than that of the mafiosi’s.
At least, the Mafioso observes a certain code of conduct. Conversely,
some of our government officials are totally shameless. It is of no
wonder, then, that the Philippines is considered to be one of the most
corrupt countries in the world.
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In other countries, some government officials value honor more than life. Take the case of Roh Moo-hyun, the 16th President of South Korea.
One year and two months after leaving office, Roh became the center of
an ongoing bribery scandal. Apparently unable to bear the stigma of the
scandal, Roh committed suicide on 23 May 2009 by jumping from a mountain
cliff, after leaving a suicide note.
In the Philippines, an ex-president who was convicted of plunder was
pardoned the very next day by the incumbent president, and is now
running again for the highest office of the land. There is only one word
to call this: shameless! Both for the incumbent president who gave the
pardon and for the ex-president who was pardoned and who is running for
public office again.
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And the fact that recent surveys still show that this convicted
criminal enjoys a considerable following by ranking third in popularity
among the candidates for president is a scathing indictment of the
eroded values of the Filipino voter. What happened to this once noble
race, which has produced the likes of Rizal, Bonifacio, and Ninoy
Aquino?
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I say to you my friends: even though we face the difficulties of
today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is deeply rooted in the
Filipino soul. I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and
show its true identity as a people – that the Filipino is honorable;
that the Filipino is just; that the Filipino is honest; that the
Filipino has nothing to be ashamed of; and that, indeed, the Filipino is
worth dying for.
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May we start on this correct path by exercising our right of suffrage
this coming elections with honor. Always vote for principle, though you
may vote alone, and you may cherish the sweetest reflection that your
vote is never lost. And it should be no problem if it appears that there
is no choice left because all the candidates are corrupt. When you can
not vote for anybody, vote against. You vote against the more corrupt by choosing the lesser evil. This is the best you can do under the circumstances.
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