Politics/Government

Investigating Corruption:
A Do-It-Yourself Guide

The book is part of a series of manuals that the PCIJ has been publishing since 1995, is a how-to manual that instructs those interested in corruption—whether they are journalists, activists, government officials, academics, researchers, or plain concerned citizens—how to probe various forms of malfeasance.

Investigating Corruption is a user-friendly manual that is based largely on the experiences of PCIJ journalists. Among others, it gives tips on investigating officials, including checking their assets, lifestyles, and behavior. A special section in the book describes how the PCIJ uncovered former President Estrada’s millions and mansions.

Investigating Estrada

Finalist: National Book Award for Journalism (2000)

THE PHILIPPINE Center for Investigative Journalism (PCIJ) began its research on President Joseph Estrada’s wealth in the first quarter of 2000. The direction of our research was determined by what could be documented. Thus, one track of our investigation focused on the acquisition of real estate and the construction of houses. The second track focused on the formation of corporations by members of President Estrada’s various families.

Betrayals of the Public Trust:
Investigative Reports on Corruption

Winner: National Book Award for Journalism (2000)

THE INVESTIGATIVE reports in this book were written between 1990 and 2000, a decade that spanned the administrations of three democratically elected presidents. During that period, the integrity of democratic institutions, which were re-established after the fall of Ferdinand E. Marcos in 1986, was challenged by charges of corruption and malfeasance. Virtually no office, including the Supreme Court and the Office of the President, was spared.

Robbed: An Investigation of Corruption in Philippine Education

Winner: National Book Award for Journalism (1999)

THE DEPARTMENT of Education Culture and Sports (DECS) provides a classic case of corruption in the Philippines. Nearly all forms of corruption described in academic texts can be found in the department: from low-level bureaucratic corruption to high-level political corruption involving education officials, legislators, and Cabinet secretaries. The result is an education bureaucracy so ridden with graft that it is barely able to deliver the most basic educational services to the country’s 15 million public school students.

Pork and other Perks:
Corruption and Governance
in the Philippines

Winner: National Book Award for Journalism (1998)

CORRUPTION is an issues as old as governance itself. Filipinos therefore tend to be cynical about corruption in government. They are shocked that public officials are corrupt, although they may sometimes marvel at the magnitude of the thievery.

Yet more and more Filipinos are now raising issues about the effectiveness of government performance, the accountability of government institutions, and the transparency of government agencies. They have realized that democracy in itself does not ensue that government officials and institutions are immune to the corruption that plagued authoritarian regimes.

Boss: 5 Case Studies of Local
Politics in the Philippines

Winner: National Book Award for Journalism (1995), out of print

FOR THE last hundred years, politicians have died, and killed, for the perks of local office—including control of substantial revenues, as well as cuts from pork barrel funds, government contracts, even jueteng and smuggling operations.

In 1991, Congress passed the Local Government Code which devolved power to local government units. The Code shifts the locus of power from manila to the regions. For the first time in Philippine history, local governments now have the authority and potentially, also the resources, to become independent power centers.