Corruption-free Philippines: Possible

In the late 1980s, the Philippines was recorded in the Guinness Book of World Records for allegedly the biggest corruption of all time. The country was under the regime of the late President Ferdinand Marcos, who was ousted through a bloodless People Power Revolution in 1986. Hopes were high with the new administration under the late President Corazon Aquino, but in 1989, she herself stated that corruption had returned with equal shamelessness.

Republic Act No. 7080, “An Act Defining Plunder,” was enacted in 1991, yet corruption remained one of the country’s biggest problems. Fifty-eight percent of Filipinos perceived corrupt officials to be a greater threat than the New People’s Army. Dissatisfied respondents in an SWS survey conducted in August 1990 stated that graft and corruption was big in the Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG), the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR), the Cabinet as a whole, the Courts of Justice, the Bureau of Customs (BOC), and the Police Force. President Cory’s successor, former President Fidel V. Ramos, ranked corruption as third among the major problems that hindered his strategy for Philippines 2000. Former President Joseph Estrada’s platform was to “win over and stop thievery in government.” Ironically, he himself was charged with plunder.

Singapore, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Thailand, South Korea, and Indonesia each have one anti-corruption agency while the Philippines has 13. In 2005, the Corruption Perception Index showed that the Philippines was third among the most corrupt countries in Asia. Having failed to “dethrone” the Philippines as one of the highly corrupt countries, these agencies are perceived to be a waste of resources and taxpayers’ money.

Today, we are still perceived as one of the highly corrupt countries. In the Transparency International global corruption index, we are 134th out of the 173 countries included in the index. In the Asia-Pacific, we occupy the 26th spot out of 33 economies. The present Aquino administration has promised to reduce or eradicate corruption in the country. This is a tall order, and the Aquino administration will need the cooperation of every government agency and business organization.

Late last year, the European Chamber of Commerce in the Philippines (ECCP) and the Makati Business Club launched the Integrity Initiative, a four-year initiative to ensure integrity and good corporate governance in every local business. The Integrity Initiative aims to:

* Urge local businesses to commit to stamping out corruption in the country.
* Identify issues that relate to integrity and transparency in every business transaction.
* Develop a Business Code of Conduct.
* Create an Integrity Pact for measures and controls that would ensure integrity and transparency in every business transaction.
* Establish and audit and certification program for local firms.
* Institutionalize the entire process to promote long-term sustainability.

So far, 170 companies pledged to run their businesses with integrity.

Another group, the Procurement and Sourcing Institute of Asia (Pasia), has initiated a program specifically on the procurement activities of companies. The group intends to educate every company with ethical procurement standards, and certify and recognize companies that implement best practices and high ethical standards in their procurement processes through the use of an ethical procurement scorecard.

The intentions of both organizations go hand in hand with the Aquino government’s platform of “no corruption, no poverty.” Ethical companies build a strong economy, and we need them to build a strong country.

There are people, including me, who are skeptical about the implementation of measures to reduce or eradicate corruption. It seems that corruption has become a normal way of life of those in government or private organizations. Granting that during the time of the present administration such measures are implemented, how long will they last? What about the next administration?

I am reminded of the time when God wanted to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah. Abraham asked God, “If you see 10 righteous people, will you destroy the land?” God said He would not.

Let us not forget the meaning of Christmas, which is to give us hope, and let us not turn away from the basis of our faith. Let us have a fresh 2011. For as long as we turn to God and believe in His grace and mercy, a corruption-free Philippines may not be too far away.

Fe Baluran teaches Financial Accounting and Management Accounting at the College of Business of De La Salle University. She can be reached at fe.baluran@dlsu.edu.ph.

The views expressed above are the author’s and do not necessarily reflect the official position of De La Salle University, its faculty, and its administration. –The View From Taft — By Fe Violeta G. Baluran, Businessworld