Last of a series
THIS is the last part of a series on the evolution of the concept of “mejora” in our Philippine history from its days in Spanish civil law (i.e., Leyes de Toro of 1505) lexicon to its particular usage among contemporary Filipinos. From the original idea of improvements on property in matters pertaining to civil law, Filipinos transformed mejora into a concept that manifests the country’s unquenchable thirst for (national) development through public infrastructures.
Mejora is itself a historical accident: plucked by Filipino nationalists of the 19th century from civil law lexicon to represent our people’s insatiable desire for progress and development, highlighting the fabric upon which Philippine history has always been inextricably woven. Unfortunately, disappointment, betrayal, deception and treachery have invariably accompanied this tantalizing promise in the narrative of our history.
For our ancestors, “kaginhawahan” is the concept that captured their enchantment with the promise of (national) development. Kaginhawahan is development, development is kaginhawahan.
Andres Bonifacio explains that the assurance of kaginhawahan was the reason why our ancestors embraced colonial rule. The Spaniards, said Bonifacio, not only failed to live up to their commitment to the Filipino people, but they used repression as a substitute for their failures. This created a sense of betrayal, deception and treachery in the minds of Filipinos, which eventually led them down the road of the Revolution of 1896.
Under American colonial rule, the country was inundated with mejoras, explaining why Filipinos showed uncanny loyalty to the United States during the Japanese occupation of World War II. However, a creeping sense of disappointment with the Americans followed as it became clear that while they granted independence to our country in 1946, they also aggressively pursued a strategy of neo-imperialist exploitation toward the Philippines, punctuated by their blatant and unrepentant interference in our domestic affairs. During the post-independence period, the imposition of American parity rights in the country and their leverage of financial, military and other forms of aid as a noose that tightened around our country’s neck, impressed among Filipinos a similar sense of betrayal and deception that we earlier felt during Spanish colonial rule.
Finally, corruption sabotaged the promise of development feverishly orated by post-independence politicians, culminating in the scandalously unrestrained plunder by the dictator Ferdinand Marcos Sr., father and namesake of the current president who himself is drowning in the trillion-peso corruption of budget insertions, flood control and other anomalies under his administration.
There is, however, one major difference that distinguishes the plundering regimes of father and son: Ferdinand Sr., for all his thievery, left behind a legacy of (corruption-marred) mejoras from his kleptomaniacal dictatorship. Ferdinand Jr.’s propaganda machine, in fact, highlighted the mejoras of his father’s predatory regime to jump-start his own foray into national politics. Four years into the son’s presidency and there is no mejora in sight. Worse, the funds set aside supposedly for mejora projects, according to disgraced congressman Zaldy Co, were pocketed by Marcos Jr. and his cousin former House of Representatives speaker Martin Romualdez. Maletas of money were allegedly delivered to the Forbes Park homes of Marcos and Romualdez.
Corruption in the Marcos Jr. administration became a key issue during the 2025 midterm elections where opposition candidates lorded it over the top senatorial posts. Reelectionist Sen. Bong Go topped the senatorial race with 47.29 percent of the votes. Fellow reelectionist Sen. Ronald dela Rosa a very close third with 36.22 percent (to Marcos Jr. tactical ally Bam Aquino’s 36.57 percent). Party-list representative Rodante Marcoleta garnered 26.59 percent for sixth place, just whiskers below another Marcos Jr. tactical ally Francis Pangilinan, who had 26.75 percent of the votes. “Bend the law” advocate Erwin Tulfo was the highest ranked from Marcos Jr.’s Alyansa para sa Bagong Pilipinas with 29.85 percent.
As a consequence, Marcoleta was initially given the chairmanship of the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee that investigated the flood control corruption scandal. Before being unceremoniously replaced as chairman, Marcoleta headed Senate hearings on the corruption scandal where the names of the country’s top politicians were mentioned as having received their share of maletas filled with cash allegedly from Zaldy Co.
Observers surmised that a Senate coup d’etat which installed comedian Vicente Sotto III as Senate president with Panfilo “Ping” Lacson as the new chairman of the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee. Lacson served in that capacity until another coup d’etat elected Alan Peter Cayetano Senate president on May 11, 2026. High-profile defections by former members of the Cayetano-led majority, Senators Francis Escudero and Joel Villanueva, paved the way for Sherwin Gatchalian to become the new Senate president on June 17, 2026. Erwin Tulfo currently serves as the new blue ribbon chairman.
News broke out recently of an impending arrest of Senator Marcoleta for plunder in connection with campaign contributions he received for the 2025 midterm elections. Reacting to this development, Iglesia Ni Cristo (INC) members hastily organized a rally at the People Power Monument along EDSA and later at the Liwasang Bonifacio in Manila.
Observers find the timing of the arrest suspicious as plunder is a non-bailable offense, which could mean that Marcoleta would be rendered unavailable for the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte in the Senate. Questions abound concerning the situation of Marcoleta and, earlier, of Sen. Jinggoy Estrada — another member of the Cayetano bloc — who is facing plunder charges in connection with the flood control anomaly.
Simultaneously, there are news reports that “the Office of the Ombudsman has rejected the recommendation of the Department of Justice in the flood control-related case against Sen. Joel Villanueva.” The Ombudsman announced that they will conduct their own preliminary investigation before deciding, if at all, on filing a case against Villanueva before the Sandiganbayan. Coincidentally, the Ombudsman’s decision came after Villanueva left the Cayetano bloc to join the new majority under current Senate President Gatchalian.
The country is now in an excited state because of intramurals concerning mejoras that fell prey to wholesale corruption seemingly masterminded by the highest officials of the government.
