RP still as corrupt as ever - Transparency International

MANILA, Philippines - No progress has been made in lessening corruption in the Philippines over the past year, with the country still bogged down by dishonest public officials and dealings, international watchdog group Transparency International said on Wednesday. Speaking at the sidelines of its Asia-Pacific planning conference held in Manila, TI regional director Pascal Fabie said nothing has changed or improved in the year since the agency last rated the corruption perception in the country. Transparency International releases a Corruption Perception Index yearly, which measures analysts and businessmen’s opinions on the rampancy of corruption in countries all over the world. In its 2007 CPI, the Philippines had a rating of 2.5, making it one of the countries perceived to be most corrupt in the world. The CPI index runs from 0-10, with a 0 rating representing a perception of absolute corruption. “Nothing has changed or improved from a year ago," Fabie told GMANews.TV. “The results of our previous report are still very much applicable." In its 2007 study, TI lumped the Philippines together with countries like Libya and Iran in terms of perceived corruption. In fact, in the space between today and the release of the TI study in September of 2007, scandal after scandal concerning governance have been unearthed. Chief of these is the $329-million national broadband network scandal, which seems to tie even President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo to allegations of bribery and deal-fixing in the award of a telecommunications infrastructure project to a company backed by the Chinese government. Fabie said corruption issues have been used by both the administration and the opposition camps in the country to discredit the other. He said, however, that the public must be wary of moves like these. “The test of credibility of the opposition is when they come into power. And we see that in many cases, they have failed," Fabie said. Affecting the economy What has rampant corruption cost the Philippines apart from dividing it into camps and factions? Watchdog groups concede that the impression that the Philippines is one of the most corrupt nations in the world, is also driving away foreign investors. Vincent Lazatin, executive director of Transparency and Accountability Network, said that the Philippines is continually being compared to regional peers, and has consistently been found wanting. “We are compared to our nearest neighbors Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia and Vietnam, with Vietnam seen as eventually overtaking us in a few years," he said. Lazatin cited as an example the brouhaha featuring the Philippine government and German company Fraport AG in the construction of Terminal 3 of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport. He explained this as not much a factor of the Philippines being more corrupt than its Southeast Asian neighbors, but of not being able to give investors value for their grease money. Certainly, Lazatin said, corruption happens across all countries and is not unique to the Philippines. “The difference is that (in other countries) when business sets aside money to grease the wheels, they know that they will get what they paid for. In the Philippines, there is no certainty," Lazatin said. Fabie said foreign investors are also looking for improvement, even small ones, in governance practices. “Investors are looking for incremental progress in governance… not a snapshot picture of what things look like right now. They are concerned about the incremental drive for improvement. Vietnam understands that and has taken a step in the right direction," he said. Despite all the talk of large scale and systemic corruption, however, Fabie said that corruption is first and foremost a question of personal morality. “Systems enable corruption but in the end, the choice to bribe or take a bribe is an individual and a moral question," he said. - Patricia de Leon, GMANews.TV