‘Uncompromised political will’ needed to counter worsening corruption — TI

CORRUPTION has worsened in the Philippines that nothing less than an “uncompromised political will” on the part of the government is needed to combat the problem. This was the assessment of the global anti-corruption group Transparency International (TI) as it noted how the country under President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has sunk further down the corruption perceptions index (CPI) worldwide according to its annual surveys.

Last year, the country was ranked 131st out of 179 nations surveyed — the lowest it has attained since the index was introduced in 1995. Grouped with Burundi, Honduras, Iran, Libya, Nepal, and Yemen, the Philippines garnered a CPI score of 2.5 with a confidence range of 2.3 to 2.7. It was also among the worst in Asia, ranking 22nd out of 35 countries. (see also “Not ‘entirely’ without basis,” and “A closer look at the 2008 PERC survey“)

The CPI score relates to perceptions of the degree of corruption as seen by business people and country analysts, and ranges between 10 (indicating low levels of perceived corruption) and zero (indicating high levels of perceived corruption). The confidence range, meanwhile, provides a range of possible values of the CPI score. This reflects how a country’s score may vary.

Under Arroyo, the country has been steadily slipping in the TI Index, with the country’s CPI score unable to improve beyond 2.6. In 2001, the Philippines was at 65 out of 90 countries with a CPI of 2.9 and confidence range of 1.6 to 4.8. (see table)

Source: Transparency International

TI regional director Pascal Fabie, however, pointed out that it would be misleading to use the CPI rating in comparison with other countries. He said that more importantly, the ranking provides “a window, a spotlight, a gauge of how a country is struggling with corruption.”

Read the comprehensive report of Transparency International’s corruption perceptions index.

Anti-corrupt agencies ‘failing’

The Presidential Anti-Graft Commission (PAGC) created by Arroyo to address complaints of graft and corruption in government, according to TI Philippines chairman Dolores Español, has not been effective in its task.

“Otherwise, there would have been a perceptible improvement in reducing the level of corruption in the country,” she said.

Aside from PAGC, the Commission on Audit, the Office of the Ombudsman, and the Sandiganbayan, as mandated by the 1987 Constitution, were created against the misuse of state power for personal gain.

Transparency and Accountability Network executive director Vincent Lazatin said that the Ombudsman is supposed to be the lead anti-corruption agency, having the constitutional mandate to initiate investigations and proactively go after corrupt officials.

Citing the President’s alleged involvement in the overpriced national broadband network (NBN) deal, Lazatin said, “We would expect that an agency with such powers — without the need of complaint — would have the initiative to investigate it (NBN) as it is very visible and high-profile.”

In response to Lazatin, Assistant Ombudsman Evelyn Baliton said that they would address these challenges. The lawyer also explained that their very limited resources have caused the perceived delay in the disposition of cases.

“Since we have only about 200 investigators watching over 1.5 million employees in the government, we have to strategize our limited resources,” said Baliton.

To project the image that her government is tough against graft corruption, Arroyo had declared in the wake of the “most corrupt country” tag from PERC in March that corrupt government officials will be punished. “Let the chips fall where they may, as investigations are concluded, and friend and foe alike are brought to account or their actions in the proper courts,” she said.

Arroyo also announced increases in the budget of the PAGC and the Office of the Ombudsman, and the creation of a Procurement Transparency Group (PTG) to open government projects to public scrutiny following the revelations on the NBN deal.

Such efforts however suffer from the wide public perception that Arroyo herself, and her family, are enriching themselves while in power.

Despite the recent belated filing of charges against former justice secretary Hernando Perez for extortion in connection with the IMPSA power project, corruption cases have also remained unresolved, including those that date back to Arroyo’s first two years in office like the allegedly overpriced P1.1-billion Diosdado Macapagal Boulevard, the P729-million fertilizer funds scam, the use of PhilHealth funds to induce votes for Arroyo in the 2004 elections, the “Hello, Garci” scandal, the P1.3-billion computerization contract of the Commission on Elections that the the Supreme Court invalidated for glaring irregularities in its bidding process, the multi-million dollar secret lobbying contracts to push for charter change, among others.

Poor in transparency

On a scale of one to five — five being the government as fully transparent — Lazatin said that the Arroyo administration would get a score lower than one.

He cited that presidential appointments have been a “blackbox process.” The lack of transparency in choosing officials for sensitive government posts such as the Office of the Ombudsman and the Supreme Court increases perception that these positions are being politicized, he said.

For Luis Teodoro, deputy director of the Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility, the media as another watchdog, have also been experiencing difficulty in reporting governance issues.

Teodoro is referring to non-disclosure of public information, sustained assault, libel suits and the continuing assassination of media practitioners.

“(It has become) difficult to get information and disseminate this to the public that wants it and need it,” said Teodoro.

Lazatin further added that the attempt to muzzle government executives through Executive Order 464 and the executive privilege are two examples of how the government clamps down on vital information about the administration.