Governance

MANILA, Philippines – Despite the scandals that rocked her administration since she took over the government in January 2001, President Arroyo has “done better” than her predecessors.

MANILA, Philippines – High-level corruption in the Philippines abound while cronyism and influence peddling are rife in business and government, according to a new country report of the Freedom House.

Security problems, corruption, weak government institutions and uneven application of the law continue to undermine the Philippines development potentials, the United States government aid agency’s Philippine strategy report for 2009 to 2013 stated.

MANILA, Philippines – The country incurred a budget deficit of P153.4 billion during the first six months of this year, a sharp 752.2 percent increase from the P18 billion deficit recorded in the same period last year on the back of declining tax collections and accelerated spending amidst the slowing economy.

Huge commissions, more than the standard 10-percent hush money, being demanded by engineers belonging to the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) from constructors undertaking government-funded infrastructure projects not only threaten the profitability of the construction industry but also result in poor-quality projects to the detriment of their target beneficiaries.

MANILA, Philippines – The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) is losing roughly 35 percent in potential revenues because of the existence of the so-called underground economy and other tax evaders, a ranking Department of Finance official said over the weekend.

MALACAÑANG has failed in fighting corruption according to the target set by the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), but only just so.

The Joint Foreign Chambers of the Philippines (JFC), which is composed of the biggest foreign trade groups in the country, has asked the Arroyo administration to take forceful and effective action against corruption as it said the corrupt remain “invulnerable to prosecution” under Mrs. Arroyo’s dispensation.

MANILA, Philippines – The Philippines lags behind its regional neighbors in terms of good governance and anti-corruption efforts, a World Bank (WB) report said.

The Philippines’ progress in governance and anti-corruption over the past decade failed to make improvements and was still behind its neighboring countries, the World Bank reported.

A Bangko Sentral official said something last Friday that summarizes our problem as a nation. In a crisis, Deputy BSP Governor Diwa Guinigundo said, the country’s best option rests not in exports or consumption activities but in good governance.

MANILA, Philippines – The country posted a consolidated public sector surplus of P32.3 billion in 2008 or 0.4 percent of gross domestic product (GDP), marking the third consecutive yearly surplus for the public sector, the Department of Finance (DOF) reported during the weekend.

MANILA, Philippines – The National Government’s debt continued to pile up, increasing by 1.5 percent, or P65 billion, to P4.229 trillion as of end-March from the end-February level of P4.164 trillion, latest data from the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) showed.

MANILA, Philippines – Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro is the richest member of the Cabinet while National Security Adviser Norberto Gonzales is the poorest, according to their statements of assets, liabilities and net worth (SALN) for 2008 submitted to the Office of the President.

Despite the widespread perception of corruption in the Arroyo administration, only 7 percent of Filipinos believe that the Philippine judiciary is affected by corruption, international think tank Transparency International (TI) has recently said.

MANILA, Philippines – Chief Justice Reynato Puno yesterday said that with the sorry state of the nation, Filipinos have no reason to celebrate Independence Day.

Unite to avert eruption, says Chief Justice Filipinos should not even go through the motions of marking more than 100 years of freedom from Spanish rule if they continued to allow fragmentation rip the country apart, the Supreme Court Chief Justice said Friday.

MANILA, Philippines – More than three-fourths of Filipinos believe that government efforts to stamp out graft and corruption are “ineffective,” the watchdog group Transparency International (TI) said.

CEBU, Philippines – The Department of Interior and Local Government has given local governments until June 30 to craft or “repair” their own Citizen’s Charter, the guide for residents on availing frontline services of government at the shortest possible time.

A United Nations official yesterday said there is an urgent need to raise awareness among Filipinos on the need to bring to “zero level” the problem of corruption which remains a serious problem in the country.

The Philippines has been stricken off the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development’s (OECD) gray list of countries that committed to but have not yet fully complied with international tax standards, the Department of Finance said over the weekend.

MANILA, Philippines – Only about three million Filipinos are registered as individual taxpayers with the Bureau of Internal Revenues (BIR), the Department of Finance (DOF) announced yesterday.

MANILA, Philippines – Government borrowings soared 130 percent in the first quarter of this year as the budget deficit of the Arroyo administration more than doubled during the review period.

MANILA, Philippines – Despite efforts to simplify business processes in the country, the cost of doing business in the Philippines is one of the highest in Southeast Asia and very little protection is given to investors.

MANILA, Philippines – Accelerated spending and weak revenue collection pushed the country’s budget deficit to P52.6 billion in March, almost triple its level in the same month last year, the Department of Finance (DOF) reported yesterday.

THE Philippines cranked up spending on infrastructure projects to stimulate economic growth, data from the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) showed.

The good news is that the Technical Education & Skills Development Authority is launching an on-the-spot-hiring fair for laid-off workers and new grads. TESDA will screen participants if qualified for training — and daily allowance of P60 for tyros and P150 for experienced.

Ombudsman Maria Merceditas Gu­tierrez said she is elated by the results of the 2009 Political Economic Risk Consultancy (PERC) survey, which reported that the perception of the Philippines has improved.

MANILA, Philippines – The Supreme Court (SC) has declared the Cityhood Laws passed during the 11th Congress as unconstitutional.

MANILA, Philippines–President Macapagal-Arroyo on Thursday urged departments and agencies to “to tighten their belts” to allow the government to create jobs and continue subsidies for the poor.