by Nicasio Angelo Agustin
If we were to enumerate the problems besetting the Philippines today, we can classify them as falling under any of these four broad categories: political instability, economic struggles, criminality and corruption. Of these four categories, corruption may be considered to be the gravest and with the direst consequences, as it directly or indirectly influences the continued existence of the other three.
Ask any Filipino today, and ten out of ten would respond that corruption is alive, well and thriving despite widely-publicized efforts to implement the slogan “kung walang corrupt, walang mahirap”. The continued preponderance of poverty affecting 40 million of our countrymen is a painful testament that indeed, corruption continues to run in the veins of our poor nation. Marami pa ring mahirap, dahil marami pa ring kurakot.
In 1999, the World Bank submitted a list of recommendations to combat corruption in the Philippines. One of these recommendations has had a resurging resonance for me in light of efforts to hold the previous president’s administration accountable for the bad choices it had made. This recommendation is, and I quote verbatim from the WB report, “the cure for the culture of impunity is to fry the big fish.” At this time, I cannot think of a bigger fish to fry than a former president. If the noontime program Showtime has a portion that has people shouting “sample, sample!”, so does this administration’s anti-corruption efforts that center on the sick congresswoman say the same – it is sampling at the highest level.
However, these same efforts fail to bring home the point that corruption takes on various forms at different levels and is not the sole domain of national government leaders. The lowliest clerk in the private sector has fallen prey to the evil siren song of making a quick buck at the expense of order and decency.
Bribery, extortion, nepotism, patronage, graft and embezzlement are all forms of corruption that we have helplessly accepted as being part of our entire system of doing and getting things done. In a, SWS survey in 2007, three out of five company managers were asked for a bribe by government officials to get things done – that is extortion. In another WB-IFC enterprise survey in 2003, 45% of surveyed companies in the Philippines admitted to paying bribes. However, bribery is a tango that is willingly danced by both briber and bribe; thus, both parties are and should be equally accountable.
There is actually a need for all of us to re-imagine our own perception of corruption. Because, while the bribee may have benefitted directly and immediately from a corrupt transaction, the briber was also able to circumscribe the process that seeks to put things in order. He benefits greatly from the transaction as well – a benefit that should not have been, but so easily, given.
Transactions like these do not only compromise the integrity of the system, but also has detrimental economic, environmental and social effects. Corruption increases the cost of doing business and discourages the entry of investments. It also results in the weak enforcement of laws that protect the environment because implementers willingly bend the rules to accommodate their new best friends. Corruption compromises the already scant resources needed to improve social conditions. A high corruption index also means that humanitarian aid will not be so willingly provided even when we need it the most – sometimes, even these forms of assistance are subject to corruption.
An informed public is key to changing the perception that corruption entails low risks and great rewards. In abolishing the myth of the free lunch, every person – whether with government or the private sector – should live in an environment where being corrupt means risking one’s dignity for measly change. That free lunch – merely knowing that corruption exists and you are part of the enabling environment that allows it to thrive – can even cause illness and death. Angie Reyes, Atty. Benjie Pinpin of DBP, or someone with cervical spine and multiple heart problems!
Running after corruptors is laudable, but it is akin to running a race with no finish line. It is reactionary rather than proactive, and for any effort to curb corruption to be successful, it must be transformed into a series of efforts that build up on each other to ensure sustainability of efforts and the ultimate eradication of the evil.
Deregulation and policy reforms are a necessary first step – including strengthening the sanctions for corruption – so that those that are pre-judged are not (unjustly) crucified by public opinion but tried and punished within the bounds of law. Public participation in the drive against corruption is also a key ingredient, together with civil service reform that encourages meritocracy instead of mediocrity. The private sector and the media must also police its ranks against their own corrupt practices in order to strengthen their ascendancy in conducting checks and balances for government processes. Lastly, government must try its hardest to regain public trust for institutions that have – but should not have been – tainted with corruption. The Ombudsman, the Sandigan and other judicial bodies should step away from the politics that has subverted them to the same ranks as other corrupt agencies.
Feel free to send your comments to nic_agustin@yahoo.com.
