FOOD LIBERTY BRINGS REGIONAL FLAVORS TO EVIA LIFESTYLE CENTER

In today's Philippines, corruption doesn't hide in shadows; it poses, captions, and hashtags its way into our feeds

- CHECHE V. MORAL

The Philippines has always been a country of extremes. At one end, the minimum-wage worker doing math in the grocery aisle, deciding whether sardines or instant noodles stretch longer. At the other, the children of corrupt officials and shady government contractors — "nepo babies," in today's parlance — who treat a P300,000 bag as just another "starter tote." Welcome to Instagram, where the only thing louder than the flex is the silence of a Bureau of Internal Revenue lifestyle check.

This isn't new, of course. Our political class has long been adept at converting public service into private splendor. But what used to be whispered about in gated subdivisions now gets blasted in 4K across social media feeds. We no longer have to speculate about corruption — it has been conveniently documented, filtered, and uploaded for public consumption. The new archives of plunder are not stored in dusty court records but in Stories and Reels captioned, "Another blessed day."

The latest parade of privilege sparkles with the usual luxury-brand suspects, plus a sports car or two for flair. Scroll a little further and you'll find brunch in Tokyo, champagne in Paris, a condo selfie with the BGC skyline, or a house/closet tour. Corruption in this country doesn't just build dynasties anymore — it builds content. Sometimes handbags. Sometimes phantom flood walls.