10/09/2025
๐๐๐๐ง๐ข๐ฅ๐๐๐ | ๐ ๐ง๐ต๐ฒ๐ณ๐ ๐ถ๐ป ๐๐ถ๐๐ด๐๐ถ๐๐ฒ: ๐๐ฟ๐ผ๐บ ๐๐ฎ๐บ๐ฝ๐๐ ๐ฆ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐๐ถ๐ฐ๐ฒ ๐๐ผ ๐๐ฎ๐บ๐ฝ๐๐ ๐ฆ๐๐ฒ๐ฎ๐น๐ถ๐ป๐ด
Corruption has long been painted as a national disease, one that spares no institutionโfrom the highest government office to the smallest barangay. In a recent episode of Kapuso Mo, Jessica Soho (KMJS), Mayor Benjamin โBenjieโ Magalong revealed the blatant misuse of public funds in flood control projects across La Union, Bulacan, Pampanga, and Oriental Mindoro. He broke down the absurd distribution of these budgets: 40% for kickbacks, 15% for the contractor, 10% for the agency, 5% for other purposes, and only 30% for the actual project. The outcome? Substandard infrastructure that stands as monuments to greed rather than service.
This reality is disturbingโbut whatโs worse is how it echoes within the community. If this happens at the national level, then it is no surprise that organizations within universities cultivate the same seed.
Unfortunately, some students of the College of Business Administration and Accountancy (CBAA) of MSU-General Santos are no exception. The very students meant to lead with integrity and accountability have instead modeled themselves after the corruption they should condemn.
Students in universities are meant to be shaped as professional and ethical leaders, not enablers of corruption. Yet, how shameful and absurd that within the college, stolen funds of disturbing proportions are uncovered. Records show that the Business Administration and Accountancy Student Council (BAASCo) have misappropriated approximately โฑ410,000 in the academic year 2023โ2024, followed by another cash shortage of approximately P90,000 in academic year 2024โ2025. To make matters worse, The Magnates, the collegeโs official publication, recorded a loss of around โฑ120,000 over the past two years. These are not small mistakes but deliberate acts of theft by individuals entrusted with responsibility.
The pattern is clear: funds mishandled, records inconsistent, and explanations insufficient. These discrepancies mirror the same abnormalities condemned in government. The same practices Magalong exposed in the misuse of taxpayer funds. The similarity is sickening.
And yet, who is to blame? Many are quick to say โthe system.โ But what is the system if not people? Policies and structures do not move by themselves. They are animated by the decisions and intentions of the individuals who occupy them. It is not some faceless machine that misused funds, but people whose greed took root.
Universities shape students in every aspect, but when college organizations are led by corrupt individuals, they become training grounds for bigger anomalies. If dishonesty is already burgeoning even in these small halls of power, imagine how future leaders will handle businesses, government, and even small communities. How disgusting it is as student leaders to practice the art of corruption.
The irony cuts deep. Again, how could the very students who sit in classrooms that teach business ethics, accountability, and financial stewardship embody the very opposite? The greed of individuals has shamed the collective.
More than money, what was lost is trust. It is about the erosion of integrity in a space where it should be non-negotiable. The core essence of leadership has been mocked by those who sought it for power rather than service, and that mockery will stain their names far more than the college itself.
True accountability demands consequencesโwithout them, it is empty. Until individuals are held responsible, this hypocrisy will persist.
The sickness of corruption thrives because people allow it, justify it, and dismiss it. These are not simply mistakes. Enough of the excuses. The system is not brokenโthe people are. And until we, as a community, hold individuals accountable, then we ourselves are accomplices in this betrayal.
๐จ: Ashley Mendoza
