Mikey Arroyo and Political Integrity
How a Lack of Integrity Impacts Effectiveness of a Government
Sep 8, 2009
Philippine news was abuzz the whole first week of September after Mikey Arroyo declared on national TV that he increased his net worth by millions of Philippine Pesos through "wedding gifts" and campaign funds. According to the news report on verafiles.org, Mikey told Solita Monsod and Arnold Clavio, hosts of the morning show, "Unang Hirit: "Siyempre unang una, kinasal tayo. Medyo nagkaroon tayo ng maraming regalo. Tapos pag kampanya, siyempre kahit paano maraming tumutulong sa atin (Of course, first I got married. We received a lot of gifts. Then during campaigns, somehow we get contributions).
The Connection Between Integrity and Keeping One's Word
First, one should define integrity. According to thefreedictionary.com, it means " The quality or condition of being whole or undivided; completeness." Another alternative definition is "The state of being unimpaired; soundness." If one sees government as an agency that produces results, then the condition in which it is impaired, not sound or divided would render it as suffering from a lack of integrity.
There is no need to color it as good or bad, it is simply impaired or ineffective. A government leader is elected to his post on the assumption that he will honor his word. If he honors his word, it is assumed that he completes his function and is unimpaired in his role. Thus, if the government leader breaks his word or does not follow through on his declarations, then he has a lack of integrity and cannot be effective in his work.
The Impact of Lack of Integrity in Government
Government is defined in thefreedictionary.com as "The act or process of governing, especially the control and administration of public policy in a political unit." The operative words are public and political. Public is as opposed to private, and thus, in this space, it belongs to the people and whatever is private should be left out of it. Politics also has to do with what is public, but more than that, it deals with the wielding of power.
One assumes that a political leader wields power and is responsible for governing the people in his constituency. Thus, the impact of a lack of integrity in a space as wide as a national government affects all the people who vote and who trust the governing body to effectively deliver results. Anything that is public that becomes private (such as campaign funds) shows the people that a government leader is not willing to honor his word and work in the public space so can deliver results to the public.
The Implications of a Lack Integrity in Government
Mikey Arroyo's case is not new in the Philippines, or in any country in the world. However, that does not excuse his behavior. He is a political leader who made a commitment to deliver results in government. Instead of delivering results, he amassed wealth in his campaign that he did not declare, a prerequisite for any government official.
Even if his actions are not based as right or wrong, good or bad, in the end, it all boils down to ineffectiveness. If his behavior reflects a socially acceptable culture among politicians in the Philippines, it is no wonder that there are many policies and programs in the Philippines that are ineffective. If all politicians were to deliver results, they need to demonstrate first that they are complete and unimpaired. They need to demonstrate integrity.
Government is a critical and serious business in the area of a nation's development. If a nation were to achieve its goals, it needs to be a nation that shows integrity. A nation's leaders that show a lack of integrity will affect the behavior and the expectations of their constituents. It is not only the leaders of a country that needs to have integrity but any individual.
However, a leader is tasked to make the future clear for the people he leads and he cannot do this if he is impaired. If he does not honor his word, he shows that he is ineffective. If he is ineffective in a huge task, the impact of that would also be far-reaching and damaging. If his ineffectiveness is accepted as part of a culture of government, then that entire government would be ineffective. If a nation is to be effective, it must not be tolerant of a lack of integrity.
BNC101
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