The True State of the Philippines

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The True State of the Philippines: Crime in a

Culture of Corruption

By Ruel F. Pepa

NEWS JUNKIE POST

Jul 21, 2013 at 3:05 pm

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The Philippines government has long been ineffective at solving crimes, many of which arecategorized as being heinous. Rampant crime has plagued practically all levels of Philippine

society, and their occurrences have largely been attributed to the weak and useless systems

that characterize the government, especially those mechanisms within it that are meant to

address the crime problem.
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The crime problem has taken its toll on the lifeblood of the nations socioeconomic

situation. Crimes have tremendously affected the countrys economic growth. large

segment of our people has lost confidence in the law!enforcing agencies of government.

"any fear that tragedy might suddenly strike them in broad daylight. #tories from the

newspapers $particularly the tabloids% are sufficient to send tingles down the spine. &ne

thing is certain' (ilipino society is crime!ridden and the government is helpless at effectively

checking and containing the already serious and increasingly more serious crime problem inthe country.


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Common Causes of Criminality

Common causes of criminality can be traced through sociological and behavioral studies of

the human condition. )t is a fact of life that crimes occur only in the human sphere, and

social relations are therefore a ma*or aspect in approaching the issue of criminality. +ith

this point of departure, we can ob*ectively mention some factors that have been identified by

professional practitioners engaged in the study of criminality, among whom are

psychologists, sociologists, criminologists and others.

1. Poverty.)n a society like the Philippines, where poverty is a given, no second thought is

needed to ascertain that in one way or another, poverty causes criminality. Crimes are

committed in areas where the urban poor live, and their occurrence is uite regular. Poverty

may not be strictly identified as a direct cause of crimes but certain circumstances brought

forth by and within a situation of poverty cause them.


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&n the other hand, in the book, The Causes and Cures of Criminality, -ysenck and

ud*onsson claim that' /"any 0 if not most 0 sociological theories boil down to what might

be called economic theories, i.e., crimes as a result of poverty, whether relative or absolute,

deprivation, and similar economic causes. lthough such theories have always had appeal,

they do not accord with the facts.1 This claim, backed up by figures based on thorough

research studies, attempts to rebut the /theory1 that poverty is a ma*or cause of criminality.

2ut the research studies were done in the conte3t of an industrialized society where povertyis not prevalent. The fact is, in a society that is not generally poor, poverty cannot really be a

ma*or cause of criminality. 4ence, the findings stressed by -ysenck and ud*onsson cannot

be applied, across the board, to practically all societies. +hat we only have to accept is the

fact that poverty, in the conte3t of poor countries like the Philippines, is a ma*or cause of

criminality. )t is illogical, however, to con*ecture that poverty is the only cause, considering

the fact that other ma*or causes are identifiable, many of which are bred in an environment

that is characterized by the sharp features of poverty.
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/causes-and-cures-of-criminality-hans-j-eysenck/1101004914http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/causes-and-cures-of-criminality-hans-j-eysenck/1101004914


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2. Abuse of Power.nother prominent cause of crime in Philippine society is somehow

also related to our economic condition. )t is not the type of crime perpetrated by people in a

situation of poverty but one that terribly affects them. )t e3ploits the economic weakness of

the poor, and none but the poor are the unfortunate victims of its ravaging onslaught. This

cause of crime is'abuse of power.


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buse of power is routinely perpetrated by powerful government officials and law enforcers

with a mandate to defend the rights of people and protect them from harm. buse of power

is terribly serious in the Philippines. )n most cases, crimes related to the abuse of power are

not treated as crimes due to methods of circumventing the laws.

-very day newspaper banners report crimes committed by policemen and military

personnel5hold!ups, kidnaps!for!ransom, murders, bank robberies, car*acking, etc. The

crimes of these people are even more heinous than those committed by some poor,

unknown and desperate criminals. #ince the *ustice system in the country is so

discouragingly defective, most of the time, powerful criminals are e3onerated of their

crimes, even those categorized as heinous. "eanwhile, the unknown, powerless poorsuspects in lesser crimes are not given fair trials and thrown immediately in *ail.


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Effects of Criminality on the Economy

1. Widening Gap etween the Poor and the !ich.)n view of the powerful peoples

oppressive and e3ploitative attitude towards the poor and marginalized sectors of the

Philippine society, crimes brought about by the abuse of power have tremendously affectedthe countrys economic situation. &ppression and e3ploitation in themselves are basically

crimes that further manifest themselves as obvious criminal acts like property grabbing

$which is actually robbery%, property destruction and murder.

This country is not only notoriously known for its systemic culture of corruption, but the

Aquino administration is also being associated with the pervasive climate of violence.

Notwithstanding press releases of the hilippine National olice !N" citing steady

decline in the crime inde#, the Aquino administration will go down in history as the

most crime-ridden governmentsince the declaration of military rule in $%&'.(
http://mb.com.ph/node/354426/a-http://mb.com.ph/node/354426/a-


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The crimes perpetrated by the powers that be are intended to perpetuate their status of

power and to grab more opportunities for ascendancy and more wealth at the e3pense of the

hapless poor. These crimes have continually concentrated the wealth of the nation in the

hands of the small percentage of the Philippine societys wealthy sector, while the big chunk

of the people wallow in poverty. The poor are e3ploited and oppressed more and more, and

the gap between the poor and the rich continues to widen.

2. "nability to "ndustriali#e $ationally. desperate act of the powers that be in their

desire to concentrate more wealth and opportunity into their hands is the utilization of huge

capitalization from big foreign investors. 2y pushing the poor against the wall of further

poverty, the powers that be have gained access to the manipulation of the countrys

economic resources for the benefit of foreign investors, who in turn have given the local

capitalists the upper hand to engineer a devastating blow to national industrialization.


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(or the interest of foreign business investments, crimes have to be committed to convert

and transform farmlands into industrial estates. /6egal1 robbery, which is actually land!

grabbing, has to be effected, and stubborn farmers who defy the will of government officials

$who act as brokers for foreign capitalists% are summarily e3ecuted, i.e., /salvaged1 in thelocal slang.

)ndustrialization is basically good, but it has to be initiated and implemented for the

national interest. The failure to do so by accommodating the e3ploitative schemes of foreign

interests is a crime worse than treason.

!easons Why %aw Enforcement "nstitutions are "neffective at &olving Crime

and Controlling the !ising 'ide of Criminality

The number of government law enforcement agencies and institutions is simply mind

boggling. )n theory, crimes should have long been controlled and solved, given the presence

of the Philippine 7ational Police $P7P% and its elite Criminal )nvestigation and 8etection

roup $C)8%9 the 7ational 2ureau of )nvestigation $72)%9 the Philippine 8rug

-nforcement gency $P8-%, and the intelligence arms of the ma*or commands of the

rmed (orces of the Philippines $(P%. )n practice, it is disgusting to know that what has

been going on is the opposite. "yriads of crimes go unsolved, and the crime situation has

never been truly contained. This is basically due to several factors.


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The True State of the Philippines