I asked the question in an attempt to understand what the listeners felt was the "going rate" – whether they saw this to be a low level befitting the President’s boasts that efforts have been undertaken to reduce the amount of graft and corruption in government and in the economy, or whether they felt this to be at stratospheric levels befitting the general perception of corruption under the present dispensation.

What I heard shocked me – at least in part, knowing that most of the callers were anti-administration in orientation – because the general answers were in the range of "at least 50 percent" to even as high as "85-90 percent."

In effect – and perhaps in most parts thanks to the ZTE expose that spoke of "bukol" and the need to protect millions and millions of dollars in commissions – a significant segment of the population believes that for every P100 project, only P50 is actually spent on the project while the other P50 is pocketed by someone or some people along the way.

Again, I was telling myself that most of the callers were sympathetic to the Opposition. But I also knew that some of them didn’t start out this way. I have been hosting this radio show for about five years now, maybe even longer, and I have gotten to know my listeners quite well to already know how they will stand regarding a certain issue. Some have remained steadfast over the years either in support of or opposition to the government; others have gradually shifted; while still others shift depending on the issue.

But on this specific issue – their gut feel of the "average" take of corrupters in and out of government in every government project, the sentiment was quite overwhelming that it was as good as 50 percent on average, if not higher.

Only a handful felt it was in the 20-30 percent range, and one or two felt it was in the 10-15 percent range.

It was after listening to all of them that I closed the program with a second question: If your gut tells you that for every project someone profits, and the profit could be about 50 percent of the project cost and even as high as 80-90 percent, then how much and who will be profiting from the government’s newly announced effort to spend over P40 billion to address the serious problem we are now having with rice?

Think about it: A few days ago the President announced a series of packages that, in total, amounted to P43 billion that the government will spend in an effort to address the rice shortage. Included in that P43 billion is some P500 million for fertilizers – and hearing the word "fertilizers" made me feel wary, what with Joc Joc still nowhere to be found and unable to be held accountable for the apparent diversion of over P700 million of fertilizer funds to partisan use in the 2004 campaign?

But then the P500 million for fertilizers would only be the tip of the iceberg, if you look at the total picture and the total price tag. At a commission of only 10 percent, someone or some people would make P4.3 billion just like that..…converting the crisis gripping the country, especially the poorer segment of our population – into a perfect opportunity to line their nests. Of course, at a gut feel percentage of 20 percent corruption and kickbacks, the P4.3 billion balloons to P8.6 billion.

But people didn’t believe the level was only 20 percent. At 50 percent which was a popular choice, the amount that would be pocketed would be P21.5 billion – which will take generations to spend, even if you bring your grandchildren’s yayas on shopping trips to Spain, the Vatican, Hong Kong or the US of A.

Think of how easily you could influence the next elections if you had that kind of money!

A few years ago there was this furor over a ship – an actual ship – disappearing from the face of the earth after publicity was drawn to it as a sea-going vessel being used in the smuggling of rice into the country via Cebu. Nothing happened after the ship "disappeared" – naturally, because there was no "body." no evidence to use against anyone.

Very quickly the furor died away -– there is always so much to get mad about in the way government is run anyway – but now the memory of that incident should return and be made to haunt those in government who are responsible not only for agriculture but also for transportation and for security because we have been made fools for so long already the worst part of it is that the crooks get away with it (and get fatter in the process) while the rest of us go hungry.

Then add to the disappearing ship the issue of the disappearing fertilizer funds – and if you ask me that should be enough to wish you could hang people upside down beneath Quezon Bridge, allowing just their heads to be below the surface of the Pasig River until they confessed to their crimes ala the Cultural Revolution in China.