Kupit is a Filipino word which means "the act of stealing something" and 19 refers to Coronavirus. Therefore, Kupit19 is the act of stealing money and freedom (in this case) during Coronavirus.

So far, this is the worst thing that has ever happened in my town, in my province and in my country. But what makes the situation worse right now is corruption! Corruption that is being led by the people whom we think can bring change and life in our community - the government! No, not really. These people in reality is just making our lives poorer.

What I am about to share are stories that proves corruption during enhanced community quarantine because of Coronavirus.

The Tale of NO FUNDS LEFT

In my past article, I have briefly discussed the Social Amelioration Program that aims to give 6,000 pesos ($120) to every household but the initial announcement was every household will receive 8,000 pesos ($160). I didn't know what happened but my guess was it was stolen or shared among government officials (not sure). What we will be focusing here is a personal experience of my cousin who didn't receive 6,000 pesos when in fact he is more qualified than us.

My cousin is a trisikad driver who has a pregnant wife and four children. His source of income depends on trisakad driving and since there is lock down and social distancing is highly observed, he can't perform his job. Her wife doesn't have work and the eldest among his children is 10 years old.

When my cousin knew that he was not on the list (households who will be receiving the aid from the government), he went to the government office specifically to DSWD department to ask why he wasn't listed.

You haven't met the qualifications because you do not have your own house and we do not have funds left because you were not on the list which means we do not have budget for you. The funds that we received was only enough for all the people who was qualified to receive the aid from the government. - the person-in-charge said.

My cousin tried to explain his situation but the DSWD officials refuses to list him since they keep on saying there were no funds left.

My cousin said, "I will report and tell the city mayor about this."

When he did that, the DSWD officials beg not to report them. So they listed my cousin and gave him money. NO FUNDS LEFT huh 😏! In reality, they do have a lot of it because they almost listed everybody and just gave few money to people and earn profit.

The Tale of Ghost Beneficiaries

If we have ghost employees and ghost voters, there should also be Ghost Beneficiaries.

According to the post of Lily Victoriano, her sister Eden Victoriano (who died 10 years ago) was listed in their Barangay's list to receive 6,000 pesos from the Social Amelioration Program. In her post, she sarcastically asked her sister to wake up so that she can receive the money.

It is the tactic of the government to take advantage of people's money and I guess they have listed a lot of dead people! Well, I just hope our ghost employees deliver this money to our ghost beneficiaries!

The Tale of Quarantine Pass

Corruption is not just about money but it could also be about rights and freedom. The tale of Quarantine Pass (Q-pass) is not just an ordinary story but a terrible one.

Q-pass is the only way for us to enter the market to buy food. It is given to the mother and the father. Q-pass do also have expirations and you need to get one again when it expires.

According to this video and to the witnesses, a man asked the Barangay Captain if he can get his Q-pass. The captain refuses to give him so the man pulled his knife and stabbed the captain several times.

Some people say, the man is not a beneficiary of Social Amelioration Program (SAP) when in fact he is qualified and the latter that happened triggered him to do violence; while some people say, he is crazy.

Conclusion

When the government corrupts people's money, the saddest reality that every poor people has to face during times like this is to either wait for some help that might come or resort to violence.

The reality that slaps us today is we cannot end corruption nor change it. The only option that we have is we should never depend our lives to government officials.

Do not be a piece on the game they're playing and fight when you have to. Study hard, achieve your goals and when you have earned a successful life, help others even if it is a little.

Stay safe everyone and thank you for reading this article :)