“Perhaps the most lasting damage (referring to the Japanese invasion of the Philippines in 1942) was to the social fabric: years of scarcity had led many Filipinos to pilfer food and cut ethical corners in order to eat. Corruption had become a way of life for many. A new eyesore afflicted Manila, as squatter shanties sprang up in many areas, particularly in Tondo, once the enclave of the Tagalog gentry and the wealthiest merchants. Much of Manila, wrote one observer, was ‘a giant slum.’”
Meralco: a century of service 1903-2003 by Raul Rodrigo
Eighty years after the squatter shanties in Tondo sprang up, the slums of Manila still flourished and thrived. There’s a saying that hopelessness in poverty would convince people born in the slums that it would be the only place they’ll ever know, the place they would die.
Because hopelessness makes it difficult to see that things could be better.
In the same way, pilferage and corruption are still prevalent in the country.
And some people would fight (or even kill) to maintain the status quo of ongoing pilferage and corruption.
A lasting damage indeed.
jessa 