It Takes a Generation to Stop Corruption: A Personal Perspective

Corruption isn’t just about breaking laws or engaging in shady dealings—it’s a mindset, a way of thinking that, over time, becomes embedded in the social fabric. I’ve seen how this mindset can shape behavior in subtle, often overlooked ways, making it a challenge to address. For true change to happen, we need more than just policies; we need a cultural shift that might take an entire generation to accomplish.

I’ve witnessed this firsthand in several settings. For example, in the education system, I saw how some teachers would expect “extra attention” from the parents of honor students. While it wasn’t openly demanded, it was communicated through soft hints and indirect requests, teaching children early on that recognition often came with strings attached. This seemingly harmless exchange plants the seed for a transactional view of success. Honor students begin to learn that even academic achievements come with a price—a lesson that stays with them into adulthood.

But it’s not just the students at the top. I’ve often wondered why many students in public schools seemed to pass despite glaring gaps in their knowledge and skills. When I asked a principal about this, he admitted that teachers hesitate to fail non-deserving students because justifying a failing grade is a tedious and often punitive process. "Na, pwerteng hasola pag justify nganung nahagbong ang estudyante (It’s an arduous task for teachers to justify a failing student)," he said. As a result, even those who cannot read, write, or solve basic math problems advance to the next level, reinforcing mediocrity and encouraging complacency.

This isn’t just limited to education. In local governance, I recall a situation involving a Sangguniang Kabataan (Youth Council) officer who was subtly pressured to make all his purchases from a particular store—not because it offered the best prices, but because it would give him a 10% commission on every transaction. What might seem like a minor act is, in fact, a form of manipulation, normalizing corruption at the very grassroots level of governance.

Even in professional settings, these subtle expectations persist. A government official, upon being promoted, felt obligated to "give back" to the approving authority, not as a gesture of gratitude but as a transactional expectation. Whether it’s an expensive gift or some form of favor, this unspoken rule turns what should be a celebration of competence into a perpetuation of dependence and obligation.

These stories reveal a troubling pattern: corruption isn’t always about breaking rules. Sometimes, it’s about bending them, or even just ignoring them to make life easier. This is why changing this mindset will take a generation. People don’t necessarily start out wanting to be corrupt, but the system they grow up in subtly nudges them in that direction. Children who see teachers cutting corners to avoid administrative hassle, or youth leaders receiving “incentives” for basic transactions, or professionals being promoted based on favors instead of performance—all internalize these behaviors as normal.

To put this in perspective, let me share a contrasting experience from a friend in Norway. One day, the son was walking his bicycle home. When asked why he wasn’t riding it, the boy calmly explained that he had lost his helmet and it was against the law to ride a bike without one. No one was watching, and there were no police officers around, but the child chose to walk because it was the right thing to do. This level of integrity and respect for rules at such a young age speaks volumes about a society that values adherence to the law and individual responsibility. It’s a stark contrast to what I’ve seen here, where bending the rules is often seen as clever rather than dishonest.

What this Norwegian boy displayed was not just obedience but a deeply ingrained understanding of personal accountability—something that needs to be cultivated if we want to change the mindset around corruption. Imagine if every child here had the same respect for rules, where the right thing to do wasn’t dictated by whether someone was watching, but because it was the right thing, period.

Addressing corruption, therefore, isn’t just about punishing bad actors; it’s about changing a mindset that has been ingrained over decades. This is why I believe it will take a generation to truly eradicate corruption. We need to start reshaping attitudes in the smallest of environments—classrooms, local councils, and offices—where values are formed and passed down.

For real change to happen, we must instill a mindset of integrity and fairness, beginning from childhood. Imagine a student who sees his parents refusing to bend to subtle expectations, who is encouraged to earn recognition based solely on merit, and who witnesses his community openly rejecting questionable practices. That child grows up with a different compass—one that doesn’t tolerate shortcuts or the notion that a reward must come with a favor. The same goes for young leaders, like Sangguniang Kabataan officers, who should be encouraged to handle resources transparently and ethically, rather than being lured by small commissions that blur the line between personal gain and public service.

Similarly, in professional settings, teachers and government officials should be empowered to see promotions as a result of their performance, not as opportunities for kickbacks or obligations. If we can create a culture where achievements are celebrated without expectation and success is measured by competence alone, we’ll be planting the seeds for a truly merit-based society.

It’s a slow process—planting these seeds of change, nurturing them with new educational approaches, and reinforcing integrity in both private and public spaces. While some might resist or claim it’s impossible to change something so deeply embedded, remember that cultural shifts take time. We’re not just dealing with individuals but with a system of beliefs and norms that have taken root.

Ultimately, it takes a generation to stop corruption because we’re battling not just behaviors but a mindset—a mindset that has taken root in different forms across various sectors. But I believe change is possible. With every honest action, we plant a seed. And with every generation that grows up in a cleaner, more transparent world, those seeds bloom into a landscape where corruption no longer finds fertile soil.