The Philippines finally achieved being no. 1 in something in 2008: corruption. The World Bank declared it the most corrupt of 10 countries in Asia. Given some of the countries it was up against, that’s quite an achievement. Because of it the Philippines failed to be eligible for funds from the Millennium Challenge Consortium. The government had not controlled corruption, as some globe-trotting generals could apparently tell you.

So the government immediately promised to now make a serious effort to weed out corruption.

No, it didn’t. The above paragraph is what the government should have said and, importantly, done. Instead, a Palace official said that Washington and the MCC should look in their own backyards first. Excuse me, this from someone representing a country that is now acknowledged as the most corrupt in Asia.

Now you can understand why the Palace won’t accept what everybody knows. So how can anything be done to fix something that you don’t even accept is broken? The Philippines is broken all right—but sadly nothing is being done to fix it. Nothing will be done this year, either, I confidently predict.

There’s a basic honesty in society that we have lost. Imelda Marcos, incredibly, still struts around town. What is wrong with us? And I must question the Church in its role. The Philippines is ranked as one of the most corrupt societies. Isn’t this a role of the Church? Instilling morality and honesty in its people? Yet we are classified as the most corrupt society in Asia. We also happen to be the only Catholic country in Asia. Is there a correlation? I’d be interested to hear the Church’s view on this and what they might do to reverse this sad situation.

Gina Lopez is fighting to clean up the Pasig River, and that’s good. You’ve seen it, even us mere mortals could “walk on water,” the so-called water of the Pasig River. It’s disgusting; companies dump their waste into it and people defecate into it. (Yes, I’ll be direct, face the facts. I have pictures. Isn’t government supposed to provide sewerage systems as part of its mandate? Or is that too much of a job for it?)

I can’t think of a major city in the world that is around a river where that river isn’t a center of pride and enjoyment. Can you imagine what Paris would be like if the Seine stunk the way that the Pasig River does? How about Venice? The canals lined with gondolas all stuck in a traffic jam of waste material. Can you imagine the beauty a pristine Pasig River could bring to Manila? Why, it would transform the city!

Malacañang sits on the Pasig River, how do they live with it? (Or do they pollute it, too?) I live by Lake Caliraya and I’m fiercely protective of its purity. I’ve formed an NGO to protect it. The people in the Palace do nothing of any consequence to look after their own front garden, let alone the pollution nationwide.

I wonder if perhaps the companies along the river could develop a social conscience—voluntarily, without force of law. Don’t they love this country? Could they perhaps put aside their greed and selfishness and think of their fellow men and women.

Which brings me to a point I’ve noticed but never understood. Too many Filipinos (excuse me for the generalization) seem to be completely unaware of their surroundings and the impact they have on others. Jeepneys will stop anywhere regardless of the traffic buildup they cause, as just one small but typical example. And as for buses—what more do I need to say?

But it’s the second day of the New Year and I want to say something nice. That “nice” is how wonderful family is. I’ve lost most of mine (as they die) but I’ve still a sister who has two lovely daughters all grown up now with kids of their own. I have a wonderful wife with a family that is part of us. Filipinos exemplify family and it is indeed lovely to just relax with people you can fully trust and love.

And in bringing up that family, I have a suggestion: Fire the yaya. We didn’t have them. Their role is to protect the child and meet his every need. But kids need to fall down (Yayas will never allow it, scared they’ll be chastised if anything happens.), kids need to relate to Mom and Dad, not some intruder into the family. Children need to develop independence—of spirit and mind. Cloistered with a yaya, that’s hard. We all live busy lives and sometimes just need that extra little help. That is understandable but they should be there to help and not actually replace the parent’s role.

I remember a story that has always stuck in my mind. A man lost his wife and after the funeral distraught didn’t know what to do. He decided to put away her things. In packing them away, one drawer was full of lingerie, at the back was a very sexy piece with a little note “for a special occasion.” He thought as he realized there’d never be another special occasion. He burst into tears; everyday should be a “special occasion.” Hug your spouse and kids now. It is too easy to take our relationships for granted. We never should. Make every day a special day; after all we only have a limited number of them.

I’m sure you’ve been to a party in the provinces. Why can’t we replicate that sheer simple joy in the big city? We have lost something. Something important, like sharing life with others.

One of the things bothering me more and more is the obsessive focus on money as though it were everything. Well you certainly can’t live without it in today’s modern world. But excessive wealth? What for? I am much more impressed with a person’s intellect than his wealth.

Einstein remains to me one of the greatest men ever in modern history, not George Soros. The world crisis we are facing today, a crisis we too will suffer this year, is because of the Soroses of the world. The fantastic world, the highly technological world we so enjoy is because of people like Einstein. My dad was a great scientist too (not on the same scale, but he too made a difference.)

We need to move away from this obsessive focus on money, money, money. I wonder if we can. I have the greatest admiration, and envy I must admit, for musicians. What a marvelous feeling they bring into our lives. Can you even begin to imagine what life without music would be like? And Einstein’s technology brought it to all of us through the flick of a stereo switch. George Soros and his ilk brought us loss of jobs, and a world recession unlike anything any of us has previously experienced.

2009 can become 2+9=11, which becomes 9/11. Is 2009 to be the world’s 9/11?

I attended a Christmas party in the provinces last week. The mayor handed out crisp new 20-peso bills to all the kids and accepted their oblation. We’re teaching mendicancy and sycophancy, even thoughts of serfdom into young, formative minds.

Coventry is a town in England, but more importantly to us, it also connotes a place where you send someone you don’t approve of. It’s an old English expression, if you “send someone to Coventry”, it means you ignore them, you treat them as though they don’t exist. See them at a cocktail party, or in a conference, or anywhere, just don’t acknowledge their presence.

No one likes being ignored. It’s a cruel but harmless form of opposition. I suggest we do it to all the politicians clamoring for Charter change. Street demonstrations are fine but you can’t do them every day. This you can. And let’s start with Imelda.

Have you ever noticed, this is a country with no parks? Makati has what, one and a little bit. Does Bonifacio have any? While Filinvest can’t even spell the word. Manila has a zoo it wants to close down and not much else.

What a sad indictment of cities. People need green. God put us on a world without “high rises”. He created a beautiful world of forests. In the Philippines, we’ve destroyed them all (17 percent left of what there was). This is where we need a revolt, for a decent human living environment.

Carbon credits are all very well, but we need trees. I started with a number 1, let me finish with one too: Unilab. Unilab just became the first Philippine company to be awarded the Philippine Quality Award for Performance Excellence. It took 11 years before a Filipino company could reach the high standards the Award dictates. Unilab did it, good on them. Now for some others in ’09.