Transparency International : Bribery in RP among worst in world

The corrupt Arroyo government is just doing a lip service in the fight against massive corruption in the bureaucracy. Gloria Arroyo and her cohorts are responsible for bleeding the treasury dry. The buck stops at Malacanang Palace. The Big Fish is elusive and well-protected by Jose Pidal mafia gang. Transparency and accountability does not exist under the Arroyo regime. Malacanang Palace is blocking any congressional investigation on alleged misused of public funds, scams and bribery.


64% say GMA gov’t ineffective vs corruption

Bribery in RP among worst in world — TI

By Chito Lozada Business Editor

12/07/2007

The Philippines under the Arroyo regime has climbed high in the global corruption index.

Corruption watchdog Transparency International (TI) ranked the Philippines in the top rung of countries most affected by bribery in the world based on its Global Corruption Barometer 2007 report released yesterday.

According to the corruption watchdog, it is the police, politicians and judges who are the most corrupt.

One in every four persons has been asked to pay a bribe to the police, and political parties and parliaments or Congress, are the most tainted by corruption, a TI study showed.

The poor are targeted for bribes in both developed and developing countries.

The study “has made it clear that too often, people must part with their hard-earned money to pay for services that should be free,” said TI chairman Huguette Labelle. “And they do not see enough commitment when they look to their governments and leaders.”

The study found that among the countries with the highest level of petty bribery, with 30 percent of respondents reporting paying bribes, is the Philippines.

Mrs. Arroyo has been mired in corruption scandals that keep on coming, and where she has been seen to block all investigations into the corruption scandals, the latest of which are the China ZTE Corp. National Broadband Network project, along with the P500,000 cash bribes each given to some 190 congressmen and a big number of local executives, right in Malacañang.

The World Bank also recently suspended funding of several road projects in the country owing to the discovered “excessive” corruption and huge overpricing in bidding for the projects.

The TI survey showed the Philippines along with Albania, Cambodia, Macedonia, Kosovo, Nigeria, Pakistan, Romania and Senegal in the top rung of countries with the highest incidences of corruption in the world.

The TI survey polled more than 63,000 people in 60 countries between June and September 2007. It showed above 33 percent reported having paid a bribe to obtain a service in the group that included the Philippines.

The TI, in its yearly Corruption Perceptions Index, showed that the Philippines has consistently fallen in ranking during the term of President Arroyo.

On respondents evaluation of the Arroyo government’s efforts to fight corruption, an overwhelming 64 percent said the measures being implemented were ineffective against 24 percent who said the efforts were effective.

The second rung of countries affected by corruption that included Bolivia, Dominican Republic, Greece, India, Indonesia, Lithuania, Moldova, Peru, Serbia and the Ukraine had 21 percent to 33 percent of respondents reporting having paid a bribe.

The survey also showed that 70 percent of those surveyed in the Philippines believe that the level of corruption will further increase in the next three years.

In Asia, the Philippines was only second to Cambodia on the percentage level of businesses which reported that they have to pay to obtain services.

On a ranking of 1 to 5, with 1 being the cleanest and 5 being the most corrupt, respondents said the police were the most corrupt in the country with a 3.6 rating, followed by the Parliament and the legislature, 3.5; political parties, 3.4; tax revenue authorities, 3.1; and 3 for the legal system and the judiciary.

On views of corruption in the future, 79 percent of respondents believe that the level of corruption will rise in the next three years, which the second highest in the region next only to India with 90 percent seeing a worsening of the corruption level in the next three years.

One in every four people has been asked to pay a bribe to the police, and political parties and parliaments, and they are the most tainted by corruption, the TI survey shows.

The poor are targeted for bribes in both developed and developing countries, according to the watchdog’s Global Corruption Barometer 2007.

The study “has made it clear that too often, people must part with their hard-earned money to pay for services that should be free,” Labelle stressed. “And they do not see enough commitment when they look to their governments and leaders.”

By region, Africa experiences the most demands for bribes, the study found.

The poor are hit hardest by petty bribery as they are more likely than those from a high-income bracket to pay bribes when seeking services.

And, TI said, that rule held true regardless of whether respondents were from richer or poorer countries.

Telephone and gas providers were the least likely to demand bribes, while the police were the worst offenders.

Twenty-five percent of respondents who came into contact with the police were asked to pay a bribe and one in every six reported that they ended up paying a bribe.

Judges in many countries are happy to take a bribe in return for dismissing a case or influencing a verdict in a court case, it was also found.

In the Philippines, this is common knowledge.

In Pakistan, for example, 96 percent of those questioned reported corrupt practices in courts.

“The police and the judiciary in many countries around the world are part of a cycle of corruption, demanding bribes from citizens,” TI’s managing director Cobus de Swardt said in a statement.

“This troubling finding means that corruption is interfering with the basic right to equal treatment before the law.”

Labelle said however that TI had noticed some cause for hope.

“We are heartened... that the public is increasingly demanding the accountability of the very institutions that most affect their lives, as this is a powerful driver of change,” she said.

The police and the judiciary featured as the services most likely to demand bribes. This result shows a serious threat to rule of law worldwide and proof that the basic right to equal treatment before the law is not guaranteed, according to TI.

“Turning promises into action is essential if anti-corruption efforts are to have an impact on the lives of ordinary people. Governments are key to making good on commitments to fighting corruption. But governments are not alone in their responsibility. We need to see concerted action from civil society and the private sector too,” Labelle said.

“The Global Corruption Barometer 2007 is a wake-up call, and a reminder that people around the world are increasingly demanding an end to corruption and its terrible cost,” Labelle added.

The Berlin-based organization also produces an annual ranking of countries perceived to be the most corrupt. Daily Tribune