Mabini Hall - Access to Justice

Charles was a fresh graduate from one of the universities downtown when he got himself a secondhand
surplus car. Shortly after, he read in the news that cars of such nature, though duly registered with the
Land Transportation Office, were in technical breach of the law because of failure to pay Customs duties
and taxes. In other words, smuggled. Not pleased with the idea and fired up with the ideals of youth and
love for country, he drove his car straight to the port area in Manila to find out.

Thereat, he was shuttled from office to office, you know, the regular ping pong stuff. He refused to give
up and finally reached someone who was willing to see him and take responsibility. He explained the
situation and wanted to verify and find out what steps he needed to take even pay up if that was the case.
Not surprisingly but totally unexpected for Charles, the bureaucrat simply opened his drawer and pointed to
it saying that was the first procedure. To the uninitiated, it means to drop some bills to get it
going. Disgusted, he left the office, shaken and very much bothered.

Some years after, Charles became a proprietor of a retail store dealing in car accessories. He employed a
few people and run a tight ship given the small profit margins. One day, a cop walked in and asked to see a
cursory spare part. The clerk obliged and the cop did a cursory inspection. Eyeing Charles who was seated a
few tables from the counter, he picked up the spare part and waved at it and said, “Thanks, boss!” Charles
was dumbfounded and did not know what to do. He certainly felt bad and cheated to say the least.

Last year, Charles decided to sell his business to migrate to Australia with his whole family. He was not
an economic migrant in the sense of the countless teachers turned housemaids, the worldwide seamen and
the Middle East workers. Charles had capital, possessed a good work ethic and was a budding
entrepreneur. Now he works as an insurance agent in Sydney and considers himself a loser for leaving and
not fighting the system more or hard enough. Every day, he continues to monitor the events back home and
prays for more good men to emerge and set things right.

Charles is not alone. In fact, most everyone can empathize with him—frustrated over corruption, faced
with harsh realities and desperate for hope. No one can blame him for his course of action. That people
leave the country because of our bad governance is not given the requisite emphasis. Discussion centers on
the social costs of broken families, of sexual or physical harassment and the riches of remittances. Yet
this reason for driving away our crucial middle class is one big reason why we should get our act together.
While other countries are sucking up talent to boost productivity and push innovation, we are stifling them
and even preying on them. Whether it is the everyday experience with MMDA vultures or kickbacks for
government contracts, life in the country becomes a big mean joke played on all of us Filipinos. Who would
want to live here? Who would want to put up with these nefarious practices?

While the people suffer and the weak and voiceless die out, the powers that be continue to hold sway to
preserve, protect and expand their interests. Hard working and well-meaning people continue to leave and
our country is poorer for it. There are many reasons why people leave, it is time we go deeply into the
root causes and not be carried by the noisy speculations and unexamined observations. People are
leaving because of the culture of corruption and the impunity of the abuser. Charles has no resource but to
pack up and go.

Godspeed.