Nagstorya mi sa akong mga classmate unsa among ganahan kuhaon nga kurso inig college. Kadaghanan nitubag og Customs Administration, para makapangawat -- para madato. Seriously, dili ni binuang.
Kasagaran man gud kay naa sila'y kaila (pamilya, parente) nga taga Customs -- nga nangurakot, nangawat, unya nadato. What's troubling about all this is that every one of them answered like it's normal to steal, that to aspire to go into Customs means -- yes -- you MUST steal. If you don't, you're a fish out of water.
Mike Ehrmantraut, the bent cop turned "cleaner" and hitman in Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul, lost his son Matty, an honest cop -- who, ironically, idolized his father -- because the kid didn't want to take dirty money. When Matty was being offered a cut by his corrupt colleagues, he asked his dad for advice. Mike told his son that if he declined the money, that if he took a moral stand, he might be seen as a liability -- after all, the entire precinct where both father and son worked was 100% corrupt. Matty took the money against his better judgment, but it was too late. Just the hint of reluctance on his part was enough for his fellow cops to worry about him becoming a whistleblower, and he was ambushed and killed.
Real talk: na-normalize na sa Pilipinas nga kung pwede ka mangawat, and you can get away with it, then go ahead. If you're in a position to steal and you don't, there's something wrong with you.
That fictional police precinct in Philadelphia where the Ehrmantrauts worked is a microcosm of the Philippines. Kung dili ka kawatan, ikaw ang abnormal.
