Cayetano to fellow leaders: Let’s make integrity central to our leadership
Senate Minority Leader Alan Peter Cayetano on Wednesday called on government, business, youth, and religious leaders to make integrity central to their work by acknowledging mistakes and correcting failures, saying it is the key to “fixing our government.”
“There is a spiritual war that is happening. Honesty versus dishonesty. Integrity versus kawalan ng integrity. So we want to fix our government? It’s not about the sinner. It’s about the sin,” Cayetano said in a Facebook livestream on October 7.
“So to myself, to the Senate, to all the leaders – business leaders, youth leaders, religious leaders: let’s make integrity central to us. As I say it to you, I say it to myself,” he also said.
Cayetano zeroed in on the flood control scandal, which he called a “culmination” of corrupt practices across different administrations “na akala natin na-address na… tapos biglang lumitaw.”
He said putting new transparency measures in place is just one part of the solution; the government, he said, first has to resolve the ghost projects which are at the root of the entire scandal.
“Where do we start? How do we put integrity back? It’s not by saying, ‘O simula 2026, simula 2027, bantayan n’yo na kami.’ Hindi po. Kailangan natin makita y’ung mali kasi kung hindi, y’ung mga corrupt, hindi naman titigil ‘yan eh. Uulit at uulit ‘yan,” he said.
The Minority Leader reiterated his suggestion for the DPWH to provide a master list of all past flood control projects and have the district engineers and local officials take photos of each. The lack of a photo, he said, simply means the project is a confirmed “ghost.”
“Kunan lang [ng litrato] lahat ng projects, may listahan ka lang, and by now, you should know which one is ghost at hindi,” he said.
Cayetano added that integrity in the flood control investigation means committing to a probe that excuses no one and singles out no one.
“So hindi mo masisi ang tao kung nagtatanong, ‘ano ba ang nangyayari d’yan?’ Because after a year, hindi pa maibigay eksakto y’ung listahan [ng ghost projects], and then may mga lugar na pinag-iinitan, may mga lugar naman na parang hindi tinitignan. So again, it goes back to what? Integrity,” he said.
Linking his message to the celebration of World Teachers’ Day, he also called for integrity in the country’s education system by confronting the government’s “mistake” in the implementation of K to 12 and pursuing “radical” solutions.
“When we say K to 12, let’s look in the mirror and say, kaya ba natin ibigay ito sa mga bata? Kung hindi, let’s admit our mistake and fix it,” he said, proposing to scale back to the old curriculum if the government cannot fully fund K to 12.
Addressing his viewers, he also challenged everyone to adopt the principle of integrity in their daily lives.
“We have to ask ourselves, sa buhay ba natin, do we have integrity? Ang gobyerno ba natin may integrity? Ang relationships ba natin may integrity? Y’ung pagtatrabaho po ba natin sa ating boss, do we do it with integrity?” he said.
Filipino Version
Cayetano sa mga kapwa pinuno: Gawin nating sentro ang integridad sa ating pamumuno
Hinimok ni Senate Minority Leader Alan Peter Cayetano nitong Miyerkules ang mga kapwa pinuno ng bansa na gawing sentro ang integridad sa kanilang pamumuno.
Aniya, ito ay sa pamamagitan ng pag-amin at pagwawasto sa mga naging pagkakamali, na siyang susi sa pagsasaayos ng pamamalakad sa bansa.
“There is a spiritual war that is happening. Honesty versus dishonesty. Integrity versus kawalan ng integrity. So we want to fix our government? It’s not about the sinner. It’s about the sin,” pahayag ni Cayetano sa kanyang Facebook livestream nitong October 7.
“So to myself, to the Senate, to all the leaders – business leaders, youth leaders, religious leaders: let’s make integrity central to us. As I say it to you, I say it to myself,” aniya.
Tinukoy ni Cayetano ang flood control scandal bilang “culmination” ng mga naging pagkakamali sa iba’t ibang administrasyon “na akala natin na-address na… tapos biglang lumitaw.”
Para maibalik ang integridad sa programang pang-imprastruktura, bahagi lang aniya ng solusyon ang pagkakaroon ng mga bagong hakbang para sa transparency. Ang kailangan muna aniyang lutasin ay ang puno’t dulo ng buong iskandalo: ang mga ghost project.
“Where do we start? How do we put integrity back? It’s not by saying, ‘O simula 2026, simula 2027, bantayan n’yo na kami.’ Hindi po,” aniya. “Kailangan natin makita y’ung mali. Kasi kung hindi, y’ung mga corrupt, hindi naman titigil ‘yan eh. Uulit at uulit ‘yan,” aniya.
Muling iminungkahi ni Cayetano na maglabas ang DPWH ng kumpletong listahan ng lahat ng mga naunang flood control project at ipakuha sa mga district engineer at lokal na opisyal ang litrato ng bawat isa. Kung walang litrato, kumpirmadong “ghost” ang proyekto.
“Kunan lang [ng litrato] lahat ng projects, may listahan ka lang, and by now, you should know which one is ghost at hindi,” aniya.
Dagdag ni Cayetano, ang integridad sa flood control investigation ay nangangahulugang walang papaburan at walang pag-iinitan.
“So hindi mo masisi ang tao kung nagtatanong, ‘ano ba ang nangyayari d’yan?’ Because after a year, hindi pa maibigay eksakto y’ung listahan [ng ghost projects], and then may mga lugar na pinag-iinitan, may mga lugar naman na parang hindi tinitignan. So again, it goes back to what? Integrity,” aniya.
Kaugnay ng pagdiriwang ng World Teachers’ Day, nanawagan din si Cayetano ng integridad sa sistema ng edukasyon. Aniya, kailangang harapin ang tinawag niyang “mistake” ng gobyerno sa pagpapatupad ng K to 12 at maging handang gumawa ng mga “radical” na solusyon.
“When we say K to 12, let’s look in the mirror and say, kaya ba natin ibigay ito sa mga bata? Kung hindi, let’s admit our mistake and fix it,” aniya, kasabay ang mungkahing ibalik ang dating kurikulum kung hindi kayang pondohan nang buo ng gobyerno ang K to 12.
Hinikayat din ni Cayetano ang kanyang mga manonood na isabuhay ang integridad sa araw-araw.
“We have to ask ourselves, sa buhay ba natin, do we have integrity? Ang gobyerno ba natin may integrity? Ang relationships ba natin may integrity? Y’ung pagtatrabaho po ba natin sa ating boss, do we do it with integrity?” aniya.
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