Corruptionary: Natatanging Diksyonaryo ng mga Salitang Korapsyon was recently launched by the Center for People Empowerment in Governance (CenPeg) and the UP Centennial Publications. The idea was first conceived by CenPeg executive director Evi-TA Jimenez in 2006 with contributions from the Political Science students of U.P. Manila.

In her introduction, Melania Abad of CenPeg’s Education Training Program says, “tinutupad ng proyektong ito and debelopmental na layunin ng CenPeg na harapin at ilantad ang pagnanakaw
korapsyon… ng mga institusyon.”

The fact that Pinoys have coined plenty of words and become adept at knowing wordplay to refer to the deed speaks of systemic problem, Abad observes. “Indikasyon ito, sa isang banda, ng lumulubhang korapsyon sa lipunan; at sa kabilang banda, ng pagiging mapagtimpi, masayahin at pagiging sanay ng mga Pilipino sa pagsagupa sa mga panlipunang suliranin.”

Corruptionary follows the standard format of the pocket dictionary in two default languages lang, di ba? Mr. Collector 1: Langya ka! Ba’t nagyon mo lang sinabi? By some reckoning prophetic, this dictionary’s fi rst entry is always and without fail predicated on the adage “Money is the root
of all evil,” as all aberyas come with a price tag. But then, when followed by Abogado, the concept
of corruption as a lifestyle or culture with its own lingua franca definitely sprays a new scent to the
adjective “sardonic,” especially if applied in Corruptionary terms. Literally, abogado is, of course,
lawyer or attorney, which is of course the professional liar, I mean, lawyer, you need to have on
your side when you fi nd yourself steeped in some deep aberya. But on the street level, as in some minor traffi c violation dramatized in Corruptionary, Abogado takes on a decidedly campy accent: Pulis: Wag ka nang magpalusot, ‘igan. Kanina pa ako nakapwesto dito. Drayber: Tsip, hindi na po ako uulit. Pulis: Talagang hindi na. Lisensya. Dryaber: (Iaabot ang lisensya, nakaipit ang P50) Pulis: Tatamaan ka sa akin eh! Si Sergio Osmena* lang ba ang abogado mo?
– Pilipino and English. In alphabetical entry, the word is fi rst assigned its place in the Parts of Speech department (with nouns comprising close to 90 percent of the 600 or so entries), followed by a phonetic/syllabic pronunciation guide, then, a concise defi nition and etymology and, more often than not, examples of usage which are never less than humorous, theatrically provocative, or empirically accurate. Th us, the first entry is:

Aa
Aberya n (noun) / pangngalan (a-ber-ya) problema sa pagsasagawa ng transaksyon dahil maaaring nabuking o may mga kulang o maling rekisitos (kaparis ng gusot, sabit, ipit, pait)

Paano ginagamit
Mr. Collector 1: Ano bayan, partner, aberya na naman! Nakakahiya na sa kliyente natin!
Mr. Collector 2: Oo nga eh. Pag nainis ako, didiretso na ako ke Bosing eh!
Mr. Collector 1: Ibig mong sabihin, pwede kang dumiretso sa kanya?
Mr. Collector 2: Kasabi-sabi ko *Personalidad na nakalarawan sa pera. Manuel Roxas: P100. Diosdado Macapagal: P200. Ninoy Aquino: P500. (All three are the most common denominations of street-level bribery. Osmena, a mere fi fty bucks, is an insult.) That Corruptionary is entertaining even on page one is testament to its unique place in Philippine mainstream cultural history. References and word origins abound all over these 200 plus pages, covering Philippine political culture from the Marcos years to the NBN ZTE scandal. And while Corruptionary is political commentary disguised as entertainment disguised as satirical book of style, it is also unequivocal in what it wants its readers to do. On the last page, it lists its own action plan. Use the book, exhorts editor Bonifacio P. Ilagan, as follows:
• as visual aid during capability building seminars on corruption
• photocopy and use as posters
• turn into T-shirt designs
• turn into storytelling sessions for kids
• blow up into billboards
• copy and disseminate “sa lahat ng dako ng Pilipinas at ibayong dagat para itaguyod ang katotohanan, hustisya at democratic governance, at magkaroon ng tunay na panlipunang pagbabago. Unlike reading a novel or newspaper in a moving bus or train, you can open Corruptionary on any page and catch just one paragraph and be rewarded with a humorous nugget about what it’s like to live in a country with such high ideals but such low capacity to resist corruption.