A Nation Robbed Twice

When corruption weakens the levees, truth must be the floodgate that holds.

Written by: Tiffany Ocampo

Illustrated by: Mic Ezekiel Santiago

September 28, 2025 |  4:35 PM

We say, “lahat kurap,” but laugh as if it’s normal. The more we shrug, the more we surrender. Corruption survives only because we feed it with our silence. 

Every peso stolen is a dream deferred. Every dishonest act, no matter how small, fuels the monster that has haunted our nation for generations. And now, as La Niña looms with floods and landslides, we—the youth—see clearly how corruption makes every storm more deadly. 

This is not just a political scandal we scroll past online. Corruption is a daily reality that robs us of our future. PAGASA has warned of a 70 percent chance of La Niña developing by year’s end, bringing stronger rains, heavier floods, and greater risks for vulnerable communities. Yet how can we feel safe when funds for flood control and disaster preparedness are wasted on ghost projects or funneled into substandard work that narrows rivers instead of widening them? How many lives will be washed away by greed? 

On September 21, thousands marched in protest. From Luneta Park to the People Power Monument, Filipinos demanded accountability. Among them were the young—our generation—holding placards, chanting, declaring that we refuse to inherit a system built on lies. We are angry, and rightly so. Climate change is already a heavy burden, but corruption makes that burden unbearable. 

This is why we cannot shrug corruption off as “normal.” Every time someone cheats on an exam, every time dishonesty is tolerated, every time we stay silent, we add to the culture that has kept our nation drowning for decades. Integrity is not a relic of the past; it is the foundation of the future we want to build. 

We may not hold public office yet, but we hold the power of choice. Honesty in our classrooms today can grow into accountability in leadership tomorrow. Integrity in small things prepares us to reject the big temptations when they come. We are not powerless; we are the generation that can break the cycle. 

Corruption has robbed us twice: first by stealing money meant for our development, and second by stealing hope from our future. But we will not let it rob us a third time. We are the youth of this nation, and we choose courage over silence, integrity over greed, truth over lies. 

Because in the end, it is not just the storms that threaten us—it is the rot within. And only a generation that refuses corruption can rebuild this country and secure a better tomorrow.