Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates — Among Filipinos working in the Middle East, the talk inevitably turns to home. In encounters in hallways, on buses, while getting a haircut, we chat about our shared experiences as expats with deep connections to our home.

Millions of Filipinos across the region are respected for their professionalism and high-quality work, while in the Philippines opportunities are scarce and wages low. Yet systemic corruption and patronage politics in our resource-rich country provide well for our rulers and those who support them.

Indeed, Philippine democracy — with its reign of celebrity, dynasties and nepotism — is the opposite of a meritocracy. Incompetence is forgiven in those who show fidelity to the rulers, while fame and its pursuit are spun as competence, which has always served the powerful well. Despite President Rodrigo Duterte’s electoral promises, little has changed where it matters most: our political culture.

One recent blunder here in the Middle East sums up well the transactional relationship between Filipino politicians and those who work for them.