RP needs to make progress vs corruption to get US grant

MANILA, Philippines - The government admitted Monday to the need to show progress in its fight against corruption if it is to secure a multi-million dollar grant from the United States. But even if the administration tallies results, it has to wait for a World Bank Institute report that scores countries according to six governance dimensions, of which one is "control of corruption." "Control of corruption," according to the institute, is an index of surveys that rates countries on the frequency of "additional payments to get things done"; the effects of corruption on the business environment; "grand corruption" in the political arena; and the tendency of elites to engage in "state capture." The Millennium Challenge Corp., which administers the Millennium Challenge Account, adopts the World Bank score on corruption to construct its own ratings for countries applying for grants. The last World Bank report was released in 2007, which means the wait for the government, which has qualified for a compact grant, could extend up to next year. The Philippines received $21 million as a threshold country but can qualify for as much as $800 million under a compact agreement. In a December 11 statement, John Danilovich, MCC chief executive officer ambassador, said the MCC’s board of directors had agreed not to approve the Philippines’ compact proposal unless it first passes the MCC’s criteria on corruption. "The Board called upon the Government of the Philippines to intensify its efforts to fight corruption and will closely monitor the country’s performance," he added. Former Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Dante B. Canlas, the point-of-contact for the Philippines, admitted "a precondition to a compact signing is making significant progress in the corruption indicator." But he claimed "We are making progress in overcoming the corruption issue. The good news is the Philippines is still eligible". Executive Secretary Eduardo R. Ermita said US Ambassador Kristie Kenney had told him that the Philippines was actually selected as eligible for compact assistance but should comply with certain requirements, among them submission of an anti-corruption plan. "What is important is the Philippines remains eligible. The MCC statement was actually just a reminder for our requirements for MCC Compact for 2009," Mr. Ermita said. He said President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo had asked concerned Cabinet members to fast-track the submission of an anti-corruption framework to the MCC. The MCC’s technical working group has identified five programs worth $841.5 million for possible funding out of the 15 presented by Philippine officials in a meeting in Washington last December 1-5. These are: * the $227-million Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program; * $100-million Kapit-bisig Laban sa Kahirapan-Comprehensive and Integrated Delivery of Social Services; * $42.6-million Sustainable Upland Watershed Management and Productivity Enhancement project; * $285.47-million enhancing fiscal governance project, and * $186.43-million secondary national roads program. — with a report from Alexis Douglas B. Romero, BusinessWorld