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Anti-corruption law in the Philippines: How effective is it?

  First of all, what is corruption? Simply put, it is an unethical method used

by a person to gain advantage over others. Today, corruption is one of the
greatest factors hindering development and stifling the realization of democracy.
Corruption, indeed, affects the growth of a nation adversely. It reduces the
Government's income, and creates inequalities in distribution of income and
wealth. Corruption affects a nation's development, economically, socially and
politically. Most of the time, it is the source of rant and chaos. Corruption involves
behavior on the part of officials in the public sector, whether politicians or civil
servants, in whom they improperly and or unjustly enrich themselves, or those
close to them by the misuse of the public power entrusted to them. This doesn’t
merely involve high-ranking officials, other public officers irrespective of their
titles and salary grades, might be guilty of corruption as well. Corruption is a
constant in the society and occurs in all civilizations. It has many different shapes
as well as many various effects, both on the economy and the society at large.

The preamble of the Constitution of the Philippines declares that “(W)e,

the sovereign Filipino people, imploring the aid of Almighty God, in order to build
a just and humane society and establish a Government that shall embody our
ideals and aspirations, promote the common good, conserve and develop our
patrimony, and secure to ourselves and our posterity the blessings of
independence and democracy under the rule of law and a regime of truth, justice,
freedom, love, equality, and peace, do ordain and promulgate this Constitution.”

It states our twin goals as a sovereign people in promulgating the

Constitution, namely, to build a just and humane society and to establish a
government that serves very high purposes like promoting the common good,
conserving and developing our patrimony and securing the blessing of
independence and democracy. It is in accordance with this concept of
government that we define public office.

Transparency International defines corruption as “the abuse of entrusted

power for private gain”. They further categorized corruption as grand and petty.
Corruption is grand when committed by high ranking officials through abuse of
power, circumventing the law, malversation of government resources to serve
one's interest at the expense of common good. On the other hand, petty
corruption happens in an ordinary day to day transaction and is committed by low
and middle level government workers when they solicit favors and/or monetary
gains in exchange for their service. Empirically speaking, corruption has
extensively damaged our country politically, economically, environmentally and
socially. Politically, when it obstructs the rule of law and injures the democratic
system and justice is treated as a commodity readily available to those who can
afford. Economically, when it exhausts the scanty national wealth and thwarts
economic growth. Environmentally, when bribes blind the eyes of justice so that
environmental regulations to protect the natural resource and ecosystem from
being exploited and ravaged illegally are not enforced. Socially, when it
undermines the moral integrity of our leaders causing the citizens to mistrust the
political system, its institutions and its leadership, hence, "gobyerno" is often
quoted and equated as synonymous with "corruption", "palakasan system" or
"padrino system". To end corruption is the campaign promise and guarantee of
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every administration. Critics opined that corruption in the Philippines is systemic

and so ingrained in the DNA of Philippine bureaucracy that any anti-corruption
program is bound to fail.

 Truly, that the first associations that come to my mind after hearing the
word corruption are government officials and bribes. But, of course, it is not the
only sense of this word. Corruption involves immorality and dishonesty. Honesty
is a principle that people always tried to keep to, at least in the past. People had
to observe that principle, because if they didn't they simply become ignored,
despised by the rest of society. Now it is unlikely that all the people keep to that
simple principle.    
This is where all the temptations begin. When a person starts to doubt
what is good and what is wrong, he starts to think that it is possible to find a way
how to avoid the call of conscience, and then he will definitely come to a decision
that he can do something bad without any retribution. I believe that when people
for the first time decide to take a bribe or do something else of that kind, they do
it not for the sake of profit but because they need money to support their families
or simply put, they are just not contented in what they have. People tend to be
obsessed with power, and somehow, some think that corruption is inevitable to
achieve this.

“Public office is a public trust”, but its integrity fades as the generation
matures. Politicians on a quite regular basis have been found guilty of corruption,
as with sports persons. Politicians use unethical techniques to gain an advantage
in an election, to gain more money, votes or to acquire ill-gotten wealth. There is
corruption in the police force, in law and order. Indeed, corruption creates a
negative atmosphere. Detrimental corruption does not bring about any good, as
Shakespeare said, "The best things corrupted become the worst."

Bribery is the one of the most common method of Corruption. Bribery

involves the improper use of favors and gifts in exchange for personal gain. For
example, in the Philippine setting, police officers are blamed for “pangongotong”.
Above all, the favors include money, gifts, company shares, employment,
entertainment, and political benefits. Also, personal gain can give preferential
treatment which tend to overlook crimes. Embezzlement, also as a means to
perpetuate corruption, refers to the act of withholding assets for the purpose of
theft. Furthermore, it takes place by one or more individuals who were entrusted
with these assets. Above all, embezzlement is a type of financial fraud.

Graft and corruption refers to the illegal use of a politician’s authority for
personal gain. Furthermore, a popular way for graft and corruption is misdirecting
public funds for the benefit of politicians. Extortion is another major method of
corruption. It means to obtain property, money or services illegally. Above all, this
obtainment takes place by coercing individuals or organizations. Hence, Extortion is
quite similar to blackmail. Favoritism and nepotism also is quite an old form of
corruption still in usage. This refers to a person favoring one’s own relatives and
friends to jobs. This is certainly a very unfair practice. This is because many
deserving candidates fail to get jobs. Abuse of discretion is another method of
corruption. Here, a person misuses one’s power and authority. An example can be
a judge unjustly dismissing a criminal’s case. Finally, influence peddling is the last
method here. This refers to illegally using one’s influence with the government or
other authorized individuals. Furthermore, it takes place in order to obtain
preferential treatment or favor.
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In the Philippines, the issue of corruption in the public sphere has been a
constant concern even though earlier and more recent leaderships have won
their seats under the battle cry of putting an end to corruption. The country has
gained international attention for the case of former President Ferdinand Marcos,
who ruled the Philippines for more than two decades from 1965 to 1986,
inclusive of the martial law period starting in 1972, during which period the
Marcos family and cronies were accused to have looted around US$5-10 billion4
in an atmosphere of authoritarian and human rights violations. Aside from former
President Marcos, another former president who served from 1998 to 2001
suffered the same downfall, with the jueteng (a local numbers game) payoff
scandal and the corporate stock price manipulation incidents, which eventually
led to his impeachment – the first Philippine President to have been impeached
by the House of Representatives. He was charged before the Philippine anti-graft
court , also known as the Sandiganbayan. After the Marcos dictatorship was
toppled, the administration that took over, accomplished nothing to resuscitate
the dying economy of the country. It just provided another foundation for a more
sophisticated corrupt system. The “lone corruption” during the time of Marcos
has been upgraded to become “orchestrated corruption” that involves conniving
venal and greedy parties, steadily taking root deeply, to become a hideous
cancer that consumes the nation.

The Marcos government has been often regarded as the most systematic
and corrupt of all government administrations in the Philippines. This is
somewhat justified by the concentration of State powers in the President. Unlike
in previous administrations that more or less observed the independence of the
executive, legislative, and judicial branches of government, the late president
effectively controlled these three branches. Eventually, crony-capitalism in the
country reached its zenith with the centralization of political power and the
realignment of concentrated economic power from the old elites to favored
associates. Centralized the political power notwithstanding, graft and corruption
have been noted even at the lowest levels of government. Although the Marcos
government has been considered as the most corrupt of all, succeeding political
administrations had their own share and have not effectively controlled the
problem. In fact, with the return to democracy, the perception is that the
floodgates of corruption have been opened for more people at various levels of
government and society. The vacuum left by the Marcos regime has been filled
and even widened; opportunities have simply become available to a broader
population.

The promised relief and comfort by the Cory Aquino administration proved
to be just a promise, without even a single ray of hope for the long suffering
Filipinos. Those who were identified with Marcos went through a cunning change
of color and held on to their posts in Malacaῆan Palace, the government
agencies, the halls of justice and legislation practically around the unsuspecting
President. The Cory charisma did not last long, as it got overwhelmed by the
corruption that just got worst and assumed a legal semblance. Even the EDSA
People Power Revolution has become a shame instead of pride for those who
enthusiastically took part and spent sleepless nights along with enterprising food,
cigarette, and softdrinks vendors.
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The development of the country got stunted as humbugs after humbugs

took center stage to deliver promises of progress and comfort while they cross
their fingers behind them. The country degenerated from so much corrupt
abuses to the extent that even the sanctity of election turned rancid, as the
process has become identified with incessant cash flows from politicians,
towards the waiting hands of voters during campaigns that chaotically precede
elections.

Poverty and unemployment are steadily on the rise. The pat on the back
given him by the lenders has put forward a strong signal that the country can
borrow money again from them, which is what the government will eventually do
as expected! This never- ending borrowing cycle has tenaciously tightened its
deathly grip on the Filipinos’ throat. Noticeable too, is the seeming cycle of
ineptitude that started with the mother and closed by the son…becoming a loop
that strangles the Filipinos.

The country’s agriculture has become inutile in sustaining the rice

requisite of the Filipinos. Shamefully, the International Rice Research Institute
(IRRI) in the Philippines trains rice researchers and technologists from other
countries. These foreign scholars go back to their countries afterwards to
enhance their rice production…with their excess sold to the Philippines to
become NFA rice…. the poor man’s rice! Even common vegetables are now
imported so that when the cost of garlic and onion rises, the Filipinos give out a
harrowingly helpless howl!

Many projects that are supposed to alleviate the suffering of Filipinos are non-
existent. For so many years, “businesspersons” who operate sham Non-
Government Organizations (NGOs) have been proliferating all the while, under
the very noses of lawmakers. Despite such knowledge, they failed to lift a finger,
until the scandal has reached an uncontrolled proportion. To save their faces,
they hold “hearings”. As exposed by whistle blowers, spurious documents have
been processed by corrupt agency officials to “legalize” the theft of the people’s
money. When these officials and lawmakers are confronted during hearings, they
swear to high heaven that they are innocent, while their ill-gotten wealth
accumulates interest in banks, with some, salted in other countries. Meanwhile,
legislative hearings in aid of legislation continue for show, with results archived to
gather dust. If ever some have luckily been legislated into law, the proper
implementation becomes the problem, so that finger-pointing again ensues.

Such mode of corruption in road construction projects results to financial

losses to the public. Based on interviews with NGOs, contractors, and news
reports the following describes corruption in road construction projects.
Corruption in public road works is committed in two related major stages of a
road construction project. The first stage of corruption occurs during the
prequalification, bidding, and awarding phase of contracts and the second stage
during project implementation. In the first stage, corruption is based on
“relationship management”, the object of which is that the contract goes to
favored contractors. Characteristic of the patrimonial society, the awarding of
contracts is often treated as a privilege, a favor, and payment of utang ng loob
(debt of gratitude). Relationship management culminates in the bribe (cash or
kind) in exchange for the actual award of contract or favorable consideration in
the evaluation of bids. The extreme case for corruption in the first stage is a
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collusion between government officials and the contractor to design and award
ghost projects (although this can also occur in the second stage involving field
officials and personnel). Another extreme case is the search for dummy
contractors by government officials.

As much as possible road infrastructure projects are chopped to different

projects worth less than P10 million so that the DPWH regional offices will not
handle it. Maintaining the project implementation, awarding of contracts, and
bidding under the hands of local officials give intending parties a freer hand in the
project. Smaller projects can then land on favored contractors or dummy
contractors of public officials thus providing them with kickbacks and
commissions. Keeping the projects on the local level also ensure that the
paperwork needed (like permits, auditing procedures, and certifications) land on
people close to the officials or to people within the same turf or network. One
NGO, the CCAGG, initially participated in the provincial Pre-qualification, Bids
and Awards Committee but later on opted not to attend anymore because they
observed that the process was more of a formality than an actual, objective
evaluation. Though the papers of bidding participants were submitted, it seemed
that a contractor getting a particular project was already known.18 Instances of
participation of contractors who did not meet the minimum equipment
requirements and those blacklisted by the COA and DPWH were also noted. The
usual recipients are legislators and their aides, mayors, barangay captains, and
government engineers. Contractors also invest in the entertainment of
government officials. The second stage of corruption involves deviations from the
specifications of the project contract. Various discrepancies during the
implementation of the project occur because the Program of Work submitted for
approval is not followed up by close on-site validation and monitoring. Surveys
are not conducted to determine the quantity of materials that will be needed.
Instead, only estimates are provided.20 In many instances, the Program of Work
itself is deficient.

In our country, the slogan is "Without corrupt officials, there are no poor
people." Because it erodes trust in government, corruption must certainly be
condemned and corrupt officials resolutely prosecuted. Corruption also weakens
the moral bonds of civil society on which democratic practices and processes
rest. But although research suggests it has some bearing on the spread of
poverty, corruption is not the principal cause of poverty and economic stagnation,
popular opinion notwithstanding. World Bank and Transparency International
data show that the Philippines and China exhibit the same level of corruption, yet
China grew by 10.3 percent per year between 1990 and 2000, while the
Philippines grew by only 3.3 percent.

Considered as an incurable disease of society, the act of corruption

destroys ethical and moral standards of civilization and brings the society to
futility wherein the one who will catch the negative effects is the people the
nation themselves. It affects the efficiency and accountability of the leaders,
productivity of the economy, political transparency and even judiciary processes
resulting to public mistrust. Corruption roots deep in the moral aspect of a person
and branches out whenever opportunities to be corrupt present themselves. A
small act of corruption can be as addictive as a drug especially if the reward is of
large amount or excellent benefits and privileges and can lead to a chain of
corrupt practices creating larger problems with hard to find remedies.
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Again, The 1987 Philippine Constitution Article XI of the 1987 Philippine

constitution, titled “Accountability of Public Officers”, states in Section 1 that
“public office is a public trust.” Public Officers and employees must at all times be
accountable to the people, serve them with utmost responsibility, integrity,
loyalty, and efficiency, act with patriotism and justice, and lead modest lives.
Section II of the same article states that the President, Vice President, members
of the constitutional commissions and the ombudsman may be removed from
office from impeachment for bribery and graft and corruption. Republic Act No.
3019 also known as the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act of 1960 This law
enumerates all corrupt practice of any public officer, declares them unlawful and
provides the corresponding penalties of imprisonment (between 6- 15 years)
perpetual disqualification from public office, and confiscation of forfeiture of
unexplained wealth in favor of the government. Executive Order No. 292 of the
Administrative Code of 1987. This order reiterates the provisions embodies in
Section 1, Article XI of the 1987 Constitution. It also gives the President the
power to institute proceedings to recover properties unlawfully acquired by public
officials and employees. Republic Act No. 6713 also known as the Code of
Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees of 1989. This
act promotes a high standard of ethics and requires all government personnel to
make an accurate statement of assets and liabilities, disclosure of net worth and
financial connections. It also requires new public officials to divest ownership in
any private enterprise within 30 days from assumptions of office.

Republic Act No. 6770 also known as the Ombudsman Act of 1989. This
provides the functional and structural organization of the Office of the
Ombudsman. Republic Act No. 7055 also known as An Act Strengthening
Civilian Supremacy over the Military This law creates two avenues for trying
erring members of the Armed Forces of the Philippines & other members subject
to military laws. Crimes penalized by the Revised Penal Code and other special
penal laws and local government ordinances shall be tried in civil courts.

Republic Act No. 7080 also known as the Act Defining and Penalizing the
Crime of Plunder This act penalizes any public officer who by himself or in
connivance with members of his family, relatives, by affinity or consanguinity,
business associates, accumulates or acquires ill-gotten wealth, through a
combination of series of event criminal acts, an aggregate amount to total value
of at least fifty million pesos (P50,000,000.00)  Republic Act No. 8249 also
known as the Act Further Defining the Jurisdiction of the Sandiganbayan. This
classifies the Sandiganbayan as a special court and places it at par with the
Court of Appeals.

Presidential Decree No. 46 declares it unlawful for government officials to

receive gifts and for private persons to give gifts on any occasion including
Christmas, regardless of whether the gift is for past or future favors. It also
prohibits entertaining public officials and their relatives. Presidential Decree No.
677 requires the Statement of Assets and Liabilities to be submitted every year.
Presidential Decree No. 749 grants immunity from prosecution to givers of bribes
and other gifts and to their accomplices in bribery charges if they testify against
the public officials or private persons guilty of those offenses.

1987 Constitution has created constitutional bodies to deal on graft &

corruption and to effectively implement provisions of public accountability. These
bodies are granted fiscal authority to ensure their independence and their actions
are appealable only to the Supreme Court. These constitutional bodies are: a.
The office of the Ombudsman (OMB) The Office of the Ombudsman investigates
and act on complaints filed against public officials and employees, and serve as
the “people’s watchdog” of the government.
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The Ombudsman and his deputies (Overall Deputy Ombudsman, Deputy

Ombudsman for Military, One Deputy Ombudsman each for Luzon, Visayas, and
Mindanao) are the “protectors of the people.” This Office: i. Oversees the general
and specific performance of official functions so that laws are properly
administered; ii. Ensures the steady and efficient delivery of public services; iii.
Initiates the refinement of public procedures and practices; and iv. Imposes
administrative sanctions on erring government officials and employees, and
prosecute them for penal violations.

The Civil Service Commission (CSC) The CSC is the central personnel
agency of the government which is mandated to establish a career service and
promote moral, efficiency, integrity, responsiveness, progressiveness, and
courtesy in the civil service. It shall also strengthen the merit and rewards
systems, human resource development, and public accountability. It has
jurisdiction over administrative cases including graft & corruption brought before
it on appeal.

The Commission on Audit (COA) The COA is the watchdog of the financial
operations of the government. It is empowered to examine, audit, and settle all
accounts pertaining to the revenue and receipts of, and expenditures or uses of
funds and property under the custody of the government agencies and
instrumentalities. It shall promulgate accounting and auditing rules and
regulations for the prevention and disallowance of irregular, unnecessary,
excessive, extravagant, or unconscionable expenditures, or use of government
funds and properties.

The Sandiganbayan is the anti-graft court of the Philippines. It has jurisdiction

over civil and criminal cases involving graft and corruption and such other
offenses committed by public officers and employees. It is in charge of
maintaining morality, integrity, and efficiency in the public service.

Other anti-corruption bodies also include the Department of Justice (DOJ).

The DOJ conducts preliminary investigations on complaints of a criminal nature
against public officials that are filed with the Department, subject to the approval
of the OMB if the offense investigated was committed by the public official in
relation to his office. The DOJ also prosecutes in these cases if the public
officials involved belong the ranks lower than salary grade 27.

The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) and the Philippine National Police
(PNP).These law enforcement agencies conduct fact-finding investigations on
graft cases. They conduct entrapment operations which, if successful, result in
the arrest and filing of criminal complaint against the perpetrators in the courts. It
may issue subpoena and serve warrants of arrest issued by the courts. The NBI
agents or policeman who conducted the investigation also acts as witness for the
prosecution during journal preliminary investigation and the prosecution of the
case by the ombudsman.

Undeniably, corruption also stems from the connivance between public

officers and drug lords. In a more recent case, during the first quarter of 2017,
the panel of prosecutors from the Department of Justice issued a 52-page
Resolution on the consolidated criminal complaints filed by the Volunteers
Against Crime and Corruption, the NBI, former NBI deputy directors and high-
profile inmate and self-confessed drug trader, recommending the filing of
charges against a former government official in connection with her alleged
involvement in the proliferation of illegal drugs at the New Bilibid Prison. Given all
the foregoing, it can be surmised that there is a growing trend of corruption
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activities and allegations being perpetrated by those in the higher chamber of the
bureaucracy. It may not come as much of a surprise since it indeed takes a good
amount of power at your hands to be able to manipulate and orchestrate a web
of convoluted corrupt activities. If it can be done in the lower ranks, and there is a
good chance that this can be very well concealed and orchestrated by higher-
ups, where the involved amount should not go unrecognized.

Therefore, if the allegations of corruption committed by the rank-and-files do

not go unnoticed, the amount of prudence and vigilance in averting corruption at
the low levels should even be multiplied when it comes to implicating high-level
corruption. It is a serious task to handle that can be addressed by criminal justice
authorities which, due to the sophistication of the documented recent cases,
goes beyond the traditional justice pillars and extends to a multitude of actors
like-mindedly serious about anti-corruption work. This is true for the Philippines.
More and more opportunities have paved way for better coordination among
criminal justice authorities and even those in the civil society. Far from being a
model, the Philippine experience may provide some gainful insights and helpful
lessons in fighting impunity, with the matter of public integrity having insinuated
its way into the national discourse, and found its proper place at the top of the
Philippine national agenda.

The Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG) This was

created primarily to go after ill- gotten wealth. It is also tasked to adopt
safeguards to ensure that corruption shall not be repeated and institute
measures to prevent the occurrence of corruption.  The Presidential
Commission against Graft and Corruption, this was created under Executive
Order No. 151 by then President Ramos to investigate graft and corruption cases
in the executive department. It has jurisdiction over corruption cases if the crime
involves: 1. Appointees with rank of or higher than Assistant Regional Director, 2.
At least one million pesos; 3. An Offense that may threaten grievous harm to
national interest; and 4. Cases specifically assigned by the president. 5. The
Inter-Agency Anti-Graft Coordinating Council The council coordinates the
government anti-corruption efforts. It is composed of the COA, CSC, the
Ombudsman, DOJ, NBI, and the Presidential Commission against Graft and
Corruption.

Citizens of the Philippines, since the point of time, got used to corruption.
Constantly, been the dominant issue of the country. Corruption is happening
throughout the world; still the corruption in the Philippines is on high degree. It is
like a persistent plague that keeps on causing death on the country and
destruction on the lives of the Filipinos. It is an epidemic disease, sometimes even
worse than Covid-19 that disperses quickly and affects the mind of the future
generation of leaders from virtuous ones into wicked doers. There is no absolute
cure and ingredient for its abolition. The future of this country will be in immense
danger if this issue will not be addressed. Corruption is only a symptom of an
inner turmoil, to emphasize, justice delayed is tantamount to no justice at all, is the
root reason of Government Corruption. Sometimes, the decent and respectable
justice system is the real cause of corruption. The consequences of the action of
the greedy crime offenders are poverty, in all its aspects. All of the government-
planned projects will absolutely fail because there is not enough funds to support
it, the supposed to be raising of the economy’s development will fall and all of the
people within the country will suffer all of its consequences.
There are many causes of poverty in the Philippines, but corruption is the
mother of all major causes of poverty. This may also be perpetuated by the Armed
Forces of the Philippines (AFP). Without corruption in the AFP, peace and order
could have been in place a long time ago. Without corruption, the state could have
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provided better education to the youth, who could have been a factor in nation-
building. Also, without corruption in the Land Transportation Office and traffic
enforcers, public transport drivers could have been disciplined and earning more.

The reasons why Corruption occurs in the Philippines is that many officials
want to get rich in a very simple way. They get money allotted for the improvement
of the country. When this occurs the Philippine treasury will lose, the many that
can be used for the improvement of the country and then the Philippines will
borrow money from other countries to meet the needs. As the country continues to
borrow money it will still lack the needs that result to poverty, unfinished projects,
and economic loss. Corruption causes occurs when respect for fellow man has
worse to selfishness and lack of patience with the desire to move ahead without
encountering the challenges to overcome all obstacles that would lead to success
with the determination and patient and also lost hope in this life thinking that the
pursuit of happiness the right way is a waste of time Corruption in the Philippines
is always unwanted.

But, why is the Philippine government continuously fighting about who is

the richest among the politicians? How is the president of the Philippines address
the issue on corruption? In my opinion, I think the Philippine President should
approve the Freedom of Information Bill. The Freedom of Information Bill is a law
that is able to stop graft and corruption. Through this bill we can see who is
stealing from the money of the people. This Bill will strike fear to those politicians
who are planning on stealing the government funds. This Freedom of Information
Bill should be passed on immediately by the president so that; Prevention
against corrupt officials will be sustained, the ombudsman will be able to charge
plunder and honest politician will not sit on the position they truly deserve. This
may not immediately address corruption, but at least an additional remedy can
be implemented.

As we all can remember, after the impeachment of Corona, there have

been a lot of concerns that have been raised. One of which, was opening the
SALN to the general public. After many debates, this concern has been opened
by the congress and still now, it is not yet approved by the President of the
Philippines. The Freedom of Information Bill is a law to prevent graft and
corruption in the Philippines. It is stated that all government official’s SALN will
be open to the general public for reviewing. When this Bill is passed by the
President of the Philippines then we can prevent those corrupt politicians from
stealing from us again. All of this can be achieved if and only if the President of
the Philippines signed this Bill.

If the Bill will be signed by the President of the Philippines then as early as
possible the ombudsman will know who to charge plunder with. The ombudsman
is a specific person that is in charge of dealing with the cases of all government
officials. If the SALN of a specific government official is proven wrong or he is
proven that he is stealing then the ombudsman will be able to charge plunder
against those people. Those corrupt politicians will not get away for all the money
they have stolen from the people. The ombudsman will now have the power to
eradicate those corrupt officials who do nothing but steal from the government’s
money. When this Bill is passed then the Philippines will be free from the corrupt
officials.
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If this Freedom of Information Bill and all of the corrupt officials will be
impeached then the Filipino people can now elect deserving government
officials. This can lead to a new and improved Philippine government. A
government with no corrupt officials, a government that can be truly trusted, and
a government that has only one mission: To help the Filipino people. If this bill is
passed then the Philippine economy may rise once again. All of this can be
achieved if this will be signed by the President of the Philippines.
Yet, the Freedom of Information Bill has some side effects. One of these
side effects is that the privacy of the government officials will be open to the
public. Their families might be attacked or harmed by the different controversies
that they will face. In order to prevent this, the Freedom of Information Bill states
only the person who is involved in the controversy will the only one who will face
the trial and the person’s family will be closely guarded by police officers. So in
other words, if this is the reason why they will stop the approval of the Freedom
of Information Bill then this reason will be nonsense because the Bill states that
they still protect the person’s family. So, the Freedom of Information Bill should
be approved.
I strongly believe that the approval of this bill will greatly benefit the
citizens of the Philippines. For example, the government position will be open to
those who really are deserving politicians. The Filipino citizen will greatly benefit
from this in a sense that they will be able to trust the newly elected politicians
and the citizen will know that the new politicians will not have the courage to
steal from the people’s money. With the Freedom of Information Bill in effect the
Philippines will truly be a free country.

Corruption is prevalent in the Philippines. It is something that is inevitable

to its government As what I’ve mentioned, Republic Act 3019 or the Anti-graft
and corruption law was enacted in order to materialize the policy of the Philippine
Government, in line with the principle that a public office is a public trust, to
repress certain acts of public officers and private persons alike which constitute
graft or corrupt practices or which may lead thereto. Corruption is prevalent in the
Philippines. It sticks to the idea of the government itself. According to research,
the Philippines even ranked 94th of the 177 countries which are said to be the
most corrupt countries in the world. Our government is indeed corrupt, and its
people are still the ones who suffer from this dishonest practice and abuse of
power.

High corruption levels severely restrict the efficiency of businesses

operating in the Philippines. Extensive bribery within the public administration
and vague and complex laws make foreign companies vulnerable
to extortion and manipulation by public officials. Favoritism and undue influence
are widespread in the courts, leading to time-consuming and unfair dispute
resolution, and to an uncertain business environment. Corruption plagues the
customs administration, and fraud routinely occurs for companies when filing
import and export documentation. The Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices
Act criminalizes active and passive bribery, extortion, abuse of
office and conflicts of interest. Giving gifts, except for gifts of insignificant value
given in line with local customs, is prohibited. Facilitation payments are not
addressed by anti-corruption regulations and private sector bribery is not
criminalized. The legislative framework for fighting corruption is scattered and is
not effectively enforced by the weak and non-cooperative law enforcement
agencies.
 P a g e | 11

The political system of the Philippines is plagued by corruption scandals

by its officials from different positions. From the president to local officials,
corruption is indeed rampant among our elected leaders. Some are embezzled
by public funds that is why they get “corrupted” while others run for office to
abuse the knowledge and power which the sovereign people have entrusted to
those positions making them the very corruptors. In Philippine election, though
the people has the right to run for office, most of them are still discouraged
because of the costly campaign where average citizens cannot win the office.
The winner is always the one who has enough financial capability and being
elected would always be dependent on the rich campaign supporters you could
get. Thus, leading to dependence and being more vulnerable to being corrupt.
For example, elected officials rely on the public funds for a possible re-election.
Bureaucratic and or Administrative corruption, similar to grand corruption, has
special access to the state and local funds is somewhere the local officers of the
State can abuse, it is where the bureaucrats fatten their purses and or load their
bank accounts.

Corruption risks are high in the judicial system. Bribes and irregular
payments in return for favorable judicial decisions are common. The judiciary is
formally independent, but the rich and powerful have frequently influenced
proceedings in civil and criminal cases. Procedural fairness and transparency are
severely undermined by nepotism, favoritism, and impunity. Companies do not
have sufficient faith in the independence of the judiciary and they rate the
efficiency of the legal framework in settling disputes and challenging regulations
as poor. Investment disputes can take several years to resolve due to a lack of
resources, understaffing, and corruption in the court system. Low salaries for
judicial officials are said to perpetuate the problem of bribery. The judiciary is
underfunded by the state and often depends on local sponsors for resources and
salaries, resulting in non-transparent and biased court decisions Foreign
investors have noted that the inefficiency and uncertainty in the judicial system
are disincentives for investment; investors regularly decline to file disputes due to
the perception of corruption among personnel and the complex and slow
litigation processes. Enforcing a contract takes much longer than the regional
average, but the costs involved are significantly lower.

In one recent case, a businessman filed an administrative complaint in the

country’s Supreme Court against Makati City judge for allegedly asking for a
PHP 15 million bribe in exchange for a favorable ruling in an insurance claim
(Inquirer, Aug. 2016). At the time of review, no further updates on the case were
available.

There are many ethical dilemmas in the criminal justice field. One ethical
issue that the criminal justice field faces is corruption. Corruption is using one’s
office for improper gain and it’s also a behavior which deviates from the formal
duties of a public role. Corruption can be carried out by anyone in the Criminal
Justice field; it’s not just limited to officers, but judges, court officials, and lawyers
can also be corrupt. It is hard for a worker to ignore the temptation of corruption
because they are underpaid, overworked, and little recognition for their hard work.
 P a g e | 12

In 1988, graft and corruption in the Philippines was considered as the

“biggest problem of all” by Jaime Cardinal Sin, the Archbishop of Manila.  In
1989, public perception was that “corrupt government officials are greater threat
to the country” than the communist guerrillas.  In 1992, President V. Ramos
considered graft and corruption as the third major hindrance towards attaining his
development strategy for the country.  In 1998, the country got good marks from
Transparency International and the Political and Economic Risk Consultancy.
Nevertheless, while the anti-corruption landscape in the Philippines has
improved, its low score of 6.5 still placed the Philippines as highly prone to
corruption.  In general, national and international opinion depict the Philippines
as still corrupt and being unable to effectively fight this problem. About 30 % of
the national budget is reportedly lost to graft & corruption every year.

According to research, a budget of 80 billion pesos will stand to lose about 24

billion pesos. Although I have mentioned several types of corruption, what I’m
about to discuss is the types of corruption which are the most common in the
Philipine setting, namely, tax evasion, ghost projects & payrolls, evasion of public
bidding in awarding of contracts, passing of contracts, nepotism and favouritism,
extortion, protection money, and bribery

Tax evasion is very rampant, particularly in the private sector due to the
refusal of those engaged in private businesses to honestly declare their annual
income and to pay the corresponding taxes to the government. With respect to
the ghost projects and payrolls, this is done by high officials of the government
whereby non-existing projects are financed by the government while non-existing
personnel or pensioners are being paid salaries and allowances. This practice is
rampant in government agencies involved in formulation and implementation of
programs and projects particularly in infrastructure and in the granting of salaries,
allowances and pension benefits.

In the evasion of public bidding in the awarding of contracts, government

offices, particularly Bids and Awards Committees (BAC) forego the awarding of
contracts through public bidding or award these contracts to favored business
enterprises or contractors. Sometimes, members of bids and awards committees
are very subjective of awarding the contract to those who can provide them with
personal benefits. In the construction of infrastructure projects, contractors have
the practice of passing the work from one contractor to another and in the
process certain percentage of the project value is retained by each contractor
and sub- contractors resulting to the use of substandard materials or even
unfinished projects.

Political dynasty in relation to nepotism and favoritism is also rampant.

Government officials particularly those occupying high positions tend to cause
the appointment or employment of relatives and close friends to government
positions even if they are not qualified or eligible to discharge the functions of
that office. This is one of the root causes of inefficiency and the overflowing of
government employees in the bureaucracy.

Extortion is done by government officials against their clients by demanding

money, valuable items, or services from ordinary citizens who transact business
with them or their office. This is rampant in agencies issuing clearances, and
 P a g e | 13

other documents, those involved in the recruitment of personnel, or those

performing services that directly favor ordinary citizens.

“Tong” or protection money is also a form of bribery which is done by citizens

performing illegal activities and operations. They deliver huge amount of money
to government officials particularly those in- charge of enforcing the law in
exchange for unhampered illegal operation. The law enforcement officer who
receives the money will be duty – bound to protect the citizen concerned together
with his illegal activities from other law enforcement authorities. This is practiced
mostly by gambling lords and those engaged in business without the necessary
permits.

Aside from that, the “lagay” system is also considered. It is the act of citizens
to bribe government officials occupying sensitive positions in government is
perpetuated due to bureaucratic red tape. The most frequently employed method
is offering a considerable amount of money to a government official who can
facilitate the issuance of the desired documents in agencies issuing licenses,
permits, clearances, and those agencies deputized to make decisions on
particular issues.

Certainly, there are impediments to the anti-corruption efforts in the

Philippines. Specific culture of Filipinos is enhancing the proliferation of graft and
corruption. The strong family ties justify giving benefits to unqualified recipients
which are very evident in employment and awarding of contracts. This societal
phenomenon is adversely affecting professionalism, efficiency, and effectiveness
in the government service as well as in the construction of public infrastructure
and procurement of government supplies and materials that are sometimes
substandard and overpriced. The Filipino culture of gift giving justifies bribery and
extortion thereby making it hard for law enforcement and anti-corruption
agencies to arrest the problem. This social practice renders inutile the law
prohibiting gift giving thereby further enhancing this corrupt practice.  Agencies
deputized to fight graft and corruption are not well funded by the government.
There is also lack of recognition, merits, awards, and rewards given by the
government for the efforts of anti-corruption bodies. Personnel of these agencies
mandated to go against corrupt public officials are vulnerable to bribery because
of lack of financial support, integrity, and professionalism.
Transparency is not religiously observed particularly in government
transactions. The public is denied access to activities of government officials.
The people are not informed, in detail, of the share of each executive
department, the legislature and the judiciary, in the national budget and how
these departments spend their financial requirements.  Effective monitoring of
government programs and projects as well as expenditures are not being
seriously undertaken by those tasked to monitor them. They are also vulnerable
to bribery and do not actually conduct thorough inspection but merely rely on
information gathered.

The statement of assets and liabilities, which is an effective mechanism to

curb graft and corruption is religiously submitted yearly by all public officials.
However, no agency of government is deputized to examine the veracity of the
data entered in those statements. Most public officials with unexplained wealth
can successfully hide the same by paying accountants to make accurate and
official statements for them.  Other anti-corruption provisions may work against
getting good people in the government
 P a g e | 14

There is no doubt, corruption is a key issue in governance in the

Philippines, where its costs already run into the billions. It is as familiar to
Filipinos as the policeman on the street who allows vehicles to park where they
shouldn't in exchange for a daily fee, or the government clerk who'll put the
papers of a bribe-giver on top of those for the signature of the next official.
The more complex deals involving millions or even billions, Filipinos only get to
hear about when the media discovers and exposes them. But in the last decade
or so corruption in government has become of interest to such foreign lending
institutions as the World Bank and other groups like Transparency International
that Filipinos now get a yearly assessment of the state of corruption in their
country.

The latest issue or the corruption by the Philippine Health Insurance Corp.
(PhilHealth) is not only thievery, robbing Filipino workers and taxpayers of their
contributions to the fund. It also violates the right of Filipinos to universal health
care, bleeding billions of pesos away from state resources intended for this
purpose. In a pandemic that has caused thousands of deaths in our country, it
violates the right to life. Corruption in the Philippines is not something novel as
the coronavirus that is plaguing the country and the world at large. It is rather an
endemic, deep-seated, and deep-rooted virus that has afflicted the country since
time immemorial. It is a social menace and a mammoth stumbling block to good
governance that had penetrated not just the government but even the private and
non-government sectors as well as Philippine society even before
the coronavirus outbreak. 
In as far as the corruption index is concerned, the country is ranked the
113rd least corrupt nation out of 180 countries according to the 2019 Corruption
Perceptions Index reported by Transparency International. That's 14 notches
below the 2018 ranking. To note, “corruption is a form of dishonesty or criminal
offense undertaken by a person or organisation entrusted with a position of
authority, to acquire illicit benefit or abuse of power for one’s private interests and
gains.” Corruption in the Philippines is prevalent on different scales. It can be
found at all levels of the state apparatus. It ranges from “petty bribery” to
corruption that affects the government on a large scale, or what you call “grand
corruption”, and the kind of corruption that is so prevalent that it becomes a part
of the everyday structure of society like organised crime, or what you call
“systemic corruption.” Thus, the alleged corruption in the Philippine Health
Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) is an exemplification of “systemic corruption”
in present-day Philippines. 

PhilHealth has been wracked by fraud for many years. Some of the
alleged corruption in PhilHealth that prevailed since the uncovering of the
massive fraudulent scheme of padded medical claims and treatments for ghost
patients for years by the Commission on Audit (COA) was the fabricated
crediting of premiums payments to Accenture Inc. in the Treasury and
Membership Databases of PhilHealth that happened from October to December
2010, and from February to September 2011, which amounted to PHP 114
million (US$2.34 million).  Such deceitful transactions allegedly started since late
2009. In 2012, cheques for the premium payments of Accenture Inc. were
encashed in at least two branches of Metrobank in Batangas instead of being
remitted to PhilHealth. This anomalous plot was accordingly made possible
because of the collusion between PhilHealth employees and a syndicate criminal
group. However, around November 2012, PhilHealth reported that the diverted
premium payments had been recovered in September 2012.
 P a g e | 15

PhilHealth has a long list of alleged corruption activities. In 2015, the

former interim president of the corporation spent over half a million on flights and
accommodations. When questioned by the Commission on Audit, the
aforementioned president said that PhilHealth didn’t have a service apartment
that he badly needed in his work. In 2018, a blatant abuse of power and authority
by those who run the corporation pushed PhilHealth’s staff to conduct a prayer
vigil. In the past year, the issue of “ghost patients” in dialysis emerged, wherein
PhilHealth released funds for beneficiaries who are already dead.

PhilHealth funds should be used for the health and wellbeing of millions of
Filipinos. Unfortunately, PhilHealth officials are said to be pocketing billions in
taxpayers’ money. The situation gets worse with the new issues raised by former
PhilHealth officials and employees. According to Atty. Thorrsson Montes Keith,
former antifraud legal officer of PhilHealth, his investigation showed that P15
billion have been stolen from the agency. He called the members of PhilHealth’s
executive committee, who seemed to have been pocketing money from the
corporation, the “mafia.”

During the previous Senate hearings, one senator questioned PhilHealth

for releasing P231 million for 48 dialysis centers and four maternity clinics
through the P30 billion Interim Reimbursement Mechanism, a special fund for
hospitals that care for persons with Covid-19. The senator added that the
process of releasing the funds was suspiciously hastened, especially when it
wasn’t intended for these patients. Aside from this, there is the PhilHealth
information technology project that costs billions. The corporation allegedly
purchased P3 million worth of network switches, with a market value of only
P60,000. The COA sifted through a lot of overpriced items in the said project,
involving millions that could have been spent for the health benefits of PhilHealth
members

It is a brutal and painful reality that we live in a corrupt society. That may
be pessimistic perhaps but also very true. Politicians are considered the most
corrupt of all. Even senators are on trial in the Philippines for looting the public
coffers. They allegedly set up false charities and foundations to hide the
public money given to them for development and community projects and then
channeled the billions into their private accounts. One was able to get a Supreme
Court decision to post bail for a crime for which there is no bail allowed. The
decision was a miracle of compassion, some said. The accused have every
opportunity to present evidence and a strong defense and benefit by the rule of
law, due process and plead innocent until proven guilty. Not so the suspected
drug users that are killed daily on the spot with no evidence needed.
 

As what I’ve stated, even the judiciary is open to corrupt practices. A

recent case in the Philippines is that of a female US national who kept five
Filipino children in her house illegally and severely neglected them and when
rescued and they were medically examined and it was found that they had been
sexually abused and used in making pornography. Despite strong evidence of
guilt, the judge dismissed the case on the slim and questionable grounds the
rescue of the children by government social workers and police was illegal.
Massive bribery was suspected to have been involved.  

Corruption in the government is a real issue that the Philippines is

experiencing today. Both the local and national governments are bombarded with
 P a g e | 16

cases of graft and corruption. It is no surprise to hear news reports of plundering

of funds, the most famous case being the misuse of the Priority Development
Assistant Funds or more known as the “pork barrel” scam. The Filipino masses
have a right to feel distrust towards the government. It is crucial to understand
the root cause of corruption in the Philippine government. The article is very
informative as it provides a historical background as to how dishonesty in the
government came to rise. I appreciate that the commentary was honest and
direct, not sugar-coating the real state of our government. It said that “The
Republic of the Philippines is a weak postcolonial state.” I proceeded to reflect
upon these words and I could say that this is true. The Philippines is a third-world
country and the corruption in the government does not help alleviate matters.
What we need is true change right now. We must know where the problem lies
and take steps toward solving it.

Corruption is often likened to a disease, and just as there is no perfectly

healthy society free from disease, one cannot expect a society to be completely
free of irregularities especially corruption. In the Philippines, corruption is so
deep-rooted and pervasive that in my opinion there is no segment of society is
free from its dark shadow. The country's political circles have long lost the
people's trust due to their frequent incidences of corruption, and hardly any
public office is free from irregularities of some kind. Meanwhile, Filipinos were
once again dismayed by reports of widespread irregularities in the government's
handling of military mobilization and arms procurement programs such as the
ZTE Broadband Deal. Even cost oriented groups are not immune from corrupt
practices, as revealed in the former President Estradas use of his charitable
organization to launder his ill gotten wealth. This only shows that corruption can
be vividly seen in the social, political and economic aspect of society. Corruption
has always been a major issue in our society and in the government. Moreover,
the impending progress of our country is put on hold because corruption is
hindering it. One consequence of this lull in the economy’s growth is the
deprivation of some basic needs of its citizens such as education.

The poor quality of education and infrastructure of citizens of this Republic

further undermines the prospects of liberation from the bondage of poverty.
Because government resources are constrained, environment protection
programs are also neglected. Given that corruption amplifies widespread
poverty, the escalating rate of crimes is not surprising to hear. An example is that
the problem with the increasing production of illegal drugs and prostitution can be
linked solidly to corruption. This social ill has led to the commission of many
heinous crimes prospering and multiplying in every municipality of this country.
Given that corruption amplifies widespread poverty, the escalating rate of crimes
is not surprising to hear. An example is that the problem with the increasing
production of illegal drugs and prostitution can be linked solidly to corruption.
This social ill has led to the commission of many heinous crimes prospering and
multiplying in every municipality of this country. Evidently, corruption has its
crippling effects on the social, political and economic aspect of our nation. It
ultimately resulted into significant economic losses, political uncertainty and
distortion of the legacy of democracy our forefathers have fought for. It also
affected human rights, not only in terms of refuting justice, but also denied the
fundamental social rights guaranteed to us by the constitution.

Countering corruption may seem to be an enormous task but we could

start by eradicating its roots: greed. Moreover, anti-corruption efforts are need to
be exerted in all aspects. In light of the fact that political factor constitutes the
lion's share of the causes for corruption, efforts should be concentrated on
 P a g e | 17

eliminating those situations that are most susceptible to irregularities and

corruption in the government. Overall, the elimination of corruption is an
ambitious target. However, we must take the initiative and make the first step;
there may be bumps that would come along the way but we must never be
dejected and just continue to strive not only for ourselves but also for the future
generations to come.

One important way of preventing Corruption is to give a better salary in a

government job. Many government employees receive pretty low salaries.
Therefore, they resort to bribery to meet their expenses. So, government
employees should receive higher salaries. Consequently, high salaries would
reduce their motivation and resolve to engage in bribery.Increasing the number of
workers can be another suitable way of curbing Corruption. In many government
offices, the workload is very high. This provides an opportunity to slow down the
work by government employees. Consequently, these employees then indulge in
bribery in return for faster delivery of work. Hence, this opportunity to bribe can be
removed by bringing in more employees in government offices. Tough laws are
very important for stopping Corruption. Above all, strict punishments need to be
meted out to guilty individuals. Furthermore, there should be an efficient and quick
implementation of strict laws.

Applying cameras in workplaces is an excellent way to prevent corruption.

Above all, many individuals would refrain from indulging in Corruption due to fear of
being caught. Furthermore, these individuals would have otherwise engaged in
Corruption. The government must make sure to keep inflation low. Due to the rise
in prices, many people feel their incomes to be too low. Consequently, this
increases Corruption among the masses. Businessmen raise prices to sell their
stock of goods at higher prices. Furthermore, the politician supports them due to
the benefits they receive.

Corruption has always been one of the major problems of the world
especially in politics. It has caused political fights, undermines democracy and
good governance by flouting or even subverting formal processes for each other or
just put in every penny in their pocket from their own countrymen without them
even knowing it. In order to stop these incidents the people should be more
educated in the world of politics so that they can be aware and stop the spread of
corruption in the government. The Philippines is no stranger to these problems
The Philippines has always been in constant strife against corruption and through
the years has made a number of political scandals or incidents that the
government never seemed to solve. That is why the people should act as one
sharing their values but also wanting them to be achieved.

Character and values are more important among politicians since it

typically exercise more discretion and scope for judgment , whose behavior is
usually more readily prescribed. It is probably more accurate to say that stances
on character and values are more important among politicians. The more
complex the environment, the less easy it is to prescribe definitive issues. To
what extent can "character" and "values" be predicted? The advantage of
political parties built on ideologies is that they expressly contain a well-defined
process for sorting out candidates based on the degree to which these share the
party's goals. Political parties place their seal of approval on candidates who
have undergone a process vetted by informed party observers and insiders. This
 P a g e | 18

reduces the information costs on the part of the individual voter who no longer
needs to familiarize himself with the individual candidate but takes the word of
the party.

Corruption occurs on all levels of government, both on a petty and a grand

scale. Petty or retail corruption tends to exist in closed and routine bureaucratic
contexts such as in the internal revenue and customs collection agencies and
among the police where bribery and extortion (various terms being Ia gay,
padulas, komisy6n, kotong, tong) are predominant forms. While not always
involving large amounts, this form of corruption is often the kind that ordinary
citizens must confront. These types of corruption have generally existed
continuously and have been subordinated to changing political leaderships which
have either tolerated or benefited from them in varying degrees. The Estrada
administration was unique in that it involved itself directly as a major beneficiary
from dosed-form corruption. Higher levels of government are associated with
greater levels of discretion and thus with larger amounts, culminating in the
grand corruption that only high elected officials can engage in. Typical of these
are large one-of-a-kind procurement contracts and awards as well as the sale of
policy. It should be noted that as the scale of corruption increases. In addition,
innovative practices in grand corruption have also been tried as permitted by
external circumstances or large policy shifts. Recent examples have included the
sale of government guarantees, stock-price manipulation and behest stock
acquisitions, among others. In terms of its industrial organization, corruption in
the Philippines presents a mixed picture. The existence of formal democratic
institutions allows corruption to be generally more dispersed among different
agents, as compared to that in other countries.

While corruption has always existed in the Philippines, it has changed in

form through time as economic strategies and political systems have also
changed. The continuing perception among many Filipinos that the relationship
between the government and themselves is at best an abstract one. Many years
ago, graft and corruption are traced to the "negative image" of government
among Filipinos. Especially during the Spanish period, positions were awarded
or sold as a matter of course to undeserving and often abusive individuals,
leading to a government that was unresponsive to the needs of the people. The
institutions of government were agents of abuse and oppression. To the Filipino,
government became an institution to be avoided and bashed, for its interests
were contradictory to the netizens. People and government were estranged from
each other and the bonds of community were dissolved. This nature of the state
and the failure of the government to become responsive meant that Filipinos had
only non-government institutions to turn to. In the matter of corruption, the
strictures against corruption have always existed merely as formal internal rules
within the government. Moreover, the organization of government itself certainly
influences the incidence and significance of corruption. Among the elements to
consider are the current system of electoral politics, and lack of autonomy. These
factors account for a large part of the problem in government to which a number
of misfits are attracted. Proposals to reduce discretion on the part of the
executive branch tand of the central government should be seriously considered.
Again, the disproportionate role corruption plays in the Philippines must be
traced to more ultimate factors in the structure of Philippine politics and
economy. These include the system of patronage in politics at both local and
national levels; the lack of information among the majority (originally due to
poverty, ignorance); the manipulation of government by powerful outside vested
 P a g e | 19

interests (originally based on landownership and relations of dependency); the

entrenchment of a stratum of political opportunists and big money politics; and a
political system used as means of wealth accumulation based on manipulations
of the electoral process (including media, the use of resources and
contributions). It is these which ultimately explain the failure of the controls over
the presumed relationship between the public and its would-be servants. This
follows from the analysis that in the Philippines’ corruption is subordinate to
politicians. In some ways, this diverges somewhat from the prescription to "go
after low-hanging fruit" [World Bank 2000]. The integrity of the Philippine justice
system must be restored, especially in the prosecution of corruption cases. A
decisive resolution of the most prominent pending political cases is needed. To
prevent any suspicion that the purposes of such moves are political, however,
progress must be made on a broad front. Hence, not only plunder cases from the
Estrada administration should be pursued but also those from the Ramos
presidency as well. Similarly, not only political cases but those involving
bureaucratic corruption, e.g., from the revenue collection agencies as well as the
judiciary must be pursued and speedily resolved. The essence of this is that the
conditions and the morality of the judiciary must themselves be raised. The
government should withdraw from sectors of the economy where its role is
unclear. There is great need, for example, for a resolute disposition within a fixed
timetable of government functions and activities.

The best way to counter corruption is to empower and strengthen the

bodies that advance anti-corruption measures. By means of related reforms
introduced and instituted by these organizations, the Philippines has a better
chance of advancing integrity initiatives in the public sector. We should fight all
the corrupt Filipinos, whether they are politicians or they are just simply our fellow
countrymen. To the Filipinos these are the values that should be made real. Like
stopping the spread of corruption in the government. The government cannot work
without the people and vice versa it is a relationship that should work both ways
and the two parties meeting halfway or reaching in an understanding because it
would be impossible to stop corruption alone. And by doing this we become more
aware of corruption in our government officials and the public can help the
government by reporting them and showing disapproval or shunning the corrupt
politicians out of the government.

While the government works diligently at eradicating the massive corruption in

the Philippines that permeates the whole society. It is also creating more
opportunities for its government to be corrupted by the very nature of the
systems implemented to combat this scourge.There must inevitably be human
beings conducting these checks, enforcing and administering these regulations.
Corruption in the Philippines is not confined to the government. The Philippines
government has long been ineffective at solving crimes, many of which are
categorized as being heinous. Rampant crime has plagued practically all levels
of Philippine society, and their occurrences have largely been attributed to the
weak and useless systems that characterize the government, especially those
mechanisms within it that are meant to address the crime problem.

Corruption is a pervasive and long-standing problem in the Philippines.

Recent government efforts have improved the country’s ranking in
Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index. Former President
Joseph Estrada was subject to allegations of corruption, culminating in
impeachment proceedings, mass public protests in Manila, withdrawal of
 P a g e | 20

support by the military and his eventual resignation from office. Former
President Estrada was arrested and charged with perjury and plunder. On
September 12, 2007, he was convicted by the Sandiganbayan, a special court
with jurisdiction over criminal and civil cases involving graft and corruption, and
was sentenced to life imprisonment. On October 25, 2007, President Arroyo
unconditionally pardoned former President Estrada. In 2006, a new
impeachment complaint was filed against President Arroyo in the House of
Representatives following the expiration of the one-year period during which
the Philippine constitution allows a single impeachment proceeding against the
President. Since that time, several additional impeachment complaints were
filed against President Arroyo. The complaints include claims that President
Arroyo engaged in systematic politically motivated crimes against activists and
journalists as well as electoral fraud. President Arroyo denied the allegations
contained in the impeachment complaints, which were subsequently dismissed
by the House of Representatives in August 2006.

After that, a renewed impeachment complaint was filed against President

Arroyo alleging corruption and fraud. Corruption is a pervasive and
longstanding problem in the Philippines. Ferdinand Marcos, his wife Imelda,
and a small circle of close associates, the crony group, felt free to practice
corruption. Marcos' New Society was supposed to eliminate corruption, but
when Marcos fled the country in 1986, his suitcases contained, according to a
United States customs agent, jewels, luxury items, and twenty-four gold bricks.
The Philippines owed about US$28 billion to foreign creditors. Borrowed
money had not promoted development, and most of it had been wasted on
showcase projects along Manila Bay, or had disappeared into the pockets and
offshore accounts of the Marcos and Romualdez families and their friends and
partners. A 1987 government study determined that 25 percent of the national
budget was lost to graft and corruption. Estimates of Marcos's wealth ran from
a low of US$3 billion to a high of US$30 billion, and even after his death in
1989, no one knew the true value of his estate, perhaps not even his widow.

President Aquino, who assumed the presidency in July 2010 on a good

governance platform, vowed to combat corruption as critical to inclusive growth
and poverty reduction. Early efforts to reign in corruption by the administration
have improved public perception, but are frequently overshadowed by high-
profile cases reported in the Philippine media.

Two problems, in particular, have plagued the civil service: corruption

especially in the Bureau of Customs and the Bureau of Internal Revenue and
the natural tendency, in the absence of a forceful chief executive, of cabinet
secretaries to run their departments as independent fiefdoms. Bribes, payoffs,
and shakedowns characterized Philippine government and society at all levels.

The Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry estimated in 1988

that one-third of the annual national budget was lost to corruption. Corruption
also occurred because of cultural values. The Filipino bureaucrat who did not
help a friend or relative in need was regarded as lacking a sense of utang na
loob, or repayment of debts. Many Filipinos recognize this old-fashioned value
as being detrimental to economic development. A congressional study
concluded that because of their "personalistic world view," Filipinos were
"uncomfortable with bureaucracy, with rules and regulations, and with standard
procedures, all of which tend to be impersonal." When faced with such rules
they often "ignore them or ask for exceptions."

The term “ conversion” is used for the transforming of funds allocated for
military acquisition into cash, most commonly in collusion with suppliers and
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some of the officers involved in the procurement process in an AFP unit.

Clearly, the length and the complexity of the procurement processes of the
AFP create an incentive for recourse to conversion by the commander
involved. So that he could increase the amount of cash he can personally
appropriate, such a commander might try to skimp on support funds for his unit
and release just enough for it to operate at bare subsistence level.

The Presidential Anti-Graft Commission assists the President in

coordinating, monitoring, and enhancing the government’s anti-corruption
efforts. The Commission also investigates and hears administrative cases
involving presidential appointees in the executive branch and government-
owned and controlled corporations. Soliciting/accepting and offering/giving a
bribe are criminal offenses, punishable by imprisonment (6-15 years), a fine,
and/or disqualification from public office or business dealings with the
government.

The law provides criminal penalties for official corruption; however, the
government did not implement the law effectively, and officials often engaged
in corrupt practices with impunity. Both the government and the private sector
have established a number of anticorruption bodies, including an ombudsman's
office and an anticorruption court, and public officials were subject to financial
disclosure laws.

President Aquino signed Executive Order No. 1, creating a truth commission

primarily to “seek and find the truth on, and toward this end, investigate reports
of graft and corruption committed by public officers and employees, their co-
principals, accomplices and accessories from the private sector, if any, during
the previous administration; and thereafter recommend the appropriate action
or measures to be taken thereon.” Various members of the House of
Representatives petitioned the Supreme Court to declare the order a violation
of the constitutional doctrine of separation of powers between the executive
and judicial branches. The Supreme Court declared the order unconstitutional.

During the year, the government convicted 42 officials in 125 corruption cases,
including a former representative in Sorsogon and the conviction of a former
state university president. There were reports of widespread corruption among
prison guards and, to some extent, at higher levels of authority within the
prison system. The 132,577-member PNP suffered from a widely held and
accurate public perception that corruption remained a problem. PNP members
were regularly accused of soliciting bribes and other illegal acts.

The 132,577-member Philippine National Police has deep-rooted institutional

deficiencies and suffers from a widely held and accurate public perception that
corruption remains a problem. The PNP's Internal Affairs Service remained
largely ineffective. Members of the PNP were regularly accused of torture,
soliciting bribes, and other illegal acts. Efforts were underway to reform and
professionalize the institution through improved training, expanded community
outreach, and pay raises.

The law provides for the right to information on matters of public concern.
However, denial of such information often occurred when the information
related to an anomaly or irregularity in government transactions, and little
government information was available electronically, making it difficult to
retrieve. In addition, no legislation sets procedures for access to information or
penalties for officials who fail to disclose lawfully available data.
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The Philippine Congress even enacted an anti-money laundering law in

September 2001 and followed through with amendments in March 2003 to
address legal concerns posed by the Organization for Economic Cooperation
and Development (OECD) Financial Action Task Force (FATF). The Egmont
Group, the international network of financial intelligence units, admitted the
Philippines to its membership in June 2005. The FATF Asia Pacific Group
conducted a comprehensive peer review of the Philippines in September 2008.

Allegations against several lawmakers for misappropriating monies distributed

as part of the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF), commonly
referred to as “pork barrel,” have garnered strong public criticism and spurred
mass protests. In 2013, the Supreme Court declared the PDAF
“unconstitutional” and ordered the prosecution of lawmakers involved in the
illegal disbursement of pork barrel funds.

One commentator noted after the May 2016 election that "Duterte is expected
to win further popular support by carrying out his campaign pledge to punish
corrupt officials and wipe out criminality, especially the syndicates engaged in
the trade of prohibited drugs and in kidnapping for ransom. The broad masses
of the people are eagerly awaiting the arrest and imprisonment of the outgoing
President Benigno S. Aquino and his budget mastermind, Florencio Abad, who
have become notorious for committing plunder and unprecedented corruption
in the abuse of the pork barrel system."

Fighting corruption is complex in nature and gargantuan in proportion. It is

a costly endeavor and requires collaborative effort from all stakeholders.
Corruption comes in various sizes and shapes so to speak, and the difficult
process starts with identifying its causes (i.e. the agencies/department involved,
the dysfunctional systems, the people involved) and implementing the
appropriate measures regardless of who is run over as long as the problem is
dealt with at its roots; and this calls for a great deal of political will from the
corruption buster (most preferably the president) who would rally the people to
this crusade until inclusive growth and sustainable development is achieved. This
is a tough and dangerous job, (it was reported that the late DILG Secretary
Robredo was investigating the pervasiveness of corruption in the Philippine
bureaucracy before his untimely death), nevertheless it can be done; several
non-traditional politicians who are reformers in their respective localities have
already sown the seeds of good governance and the government needs to
support their piecemeal efforts and beefed up its political will.

As citizens we must pressure our legislators to pass the Freedom of

Information Bill so that the nation can access the relevant information in the
bureaucratic system. For when we remove the unknown or the element of
secrecy we nurture an environment of integrity that lessens the probability of
committing dishonest practices. When the general public are made aware, are
informed and are vigilant then they can scrutinize the ins and outs of the nation's
fiscal management and put the political actors on their toes. Indicators #2 to #5
as pointed out by Quah (2011) are within the powers of the President to execute.
Hence, as the head of the state he must lead the all-out war against corruption.
He can start by overhauling the dysfunctional political configuration i.e. the spoils
system/patronage system and the state capture system where both gave
preference to kin, friends, and campaign donors at the expense of the common
good. It's high time to enforce the spending cap during elections and to penalize
accordingly the violators. State capture commences when private donors finance
 P a g e | 23

political campaigns in return for government favors. The disclosure of the amount
and the source of the donations should be enforced strictly to monitor undue
donor influence once the candidate is installed. The United Nations Convention
against Corruption where the Philippines is a member state recognized this and
encouraged its members to "enhance transparency in the funding of
candidatures for elected public office and, when applicable, the funding of
political parties".

All-out war against corruption requires a high level of political will and
strengthening political will necessitates costs and processes. Political will (all the
five indicators being present) is necessary to put teeth in the anti-corruption
campaign; for when meaningful and concrete results are not achieved the
citizens will lose trust in the institution and in its political leaders. It is common
knowledge that the devastating effects of corruption encompasses financial,
social, economic and political spheres and cannot be quantified merely in
financial terms or financial losses. We must also calculate the human cost - the
people who were deprived of quality health care; the high incidence of poverty
resulting to hunger and inability to provide for the basic needs, drug-related
crimes, child labor and dropping out of school; the poor quality of public
infrastructures, preferential treatment in availing social services to the
disadvantage of those who have no connections, the unavailability of productive
employment; bogus land reforms; political instability causing less inflow of foreign
investments and the list can go on. Many economists opined that if not for
corruption, the Philippines would have been an industrially developed country at
par with Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and Singapore. Philippines is one of the
countries who committed to uphold the Agenda 2030 on Sustainable
Development where one of its mandates is to "create conditions for sustainable,
inclusive and sustained economic growth"; we have barely thirteen (13) years to
accomplish this and its greatest blockade is the nation's systemic corruption.

There are several ways to curb corruption in the Philippines. First, the law
should strictly be implemented and punish the vote sellers and vote brokers
Corrupt voters give birth to corrupt politicians. In order to stop corruption, we
have to start eliminating it at its birth, that is, during elections. Most of us are
aware that vote buying is illegal. But actually, vote selling is also prohibited by
the law. According to Section 261 (a), Article 22 of the Omnibus Election Code,
both vote buying and vote selling are prohibited and punishable. In other words,
it’s not only the candidates, their supporters, or the vote buyers who can be
found guilty of an election offense, but the voters or vote sellers can also be
punished according to the code. I know it seems impossible to arrest all vote
sellers and put them in jail for committing an election offense. There’s no prison
that can accommodate all the Filipinos who sell their votes during elections. But I
believe many of those who sell their votes are not aware of the law. So to
decrease the number of vote sellers in the Philippines, the COMELEC and other
concerned agencies should do their best to educate and warn all voters across
the country. Informing people through the Internet and social media isn’t enough
since 2/3 of our population don’t have a good access to the Internet yet.

Our government have to increase efforts to reach, educate and warn

voters in the rural areas. Vote selling may be difficult to prove and vote sellers
may not be punished in jail, but if they’ll become aware that their acts are against
the law, they might just be punished by their own conscience. Moreover, vote
selling and vote buying in the Philippines become a great problem because they
are usually organized from the national to the barangay level. Hence, it would be
a better solution if the government can obliterate these organizations or vote
brokers (whether they are inside or outside the government), who manage the
wide corruption of votes in the Philippines.
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Second, there should be a strict annual assessment of all public officials

by the Bureau of Internal Revenue. Majority of politicians in the Philippines are
rich and generating income from businesses. Even the poorest mayor in Metro
Manila has a net worth of P3.31 million. Therefore, the BIR should not only focus
on examining small business owners and professionals, but should also
concentrate on investigating the politicians and the companies that are fully or
partially owned by them. The government should not only require public officials
to submit their financial statements or statements of assets and liabilities, but
they should also assess or audit these public officials annually and make their
statements available to the public. This way, the public will know how they are
earning income and increasing their net worth, whether it’s coming from their
salary or from their business. Public officials should be a role model of public
trust. They desire to be in a public office. Hence, they should not complain if they
will be required to undergo annual tax examination.

Third, there should be more effective and efficient tax system. The second
solution won’t be effective if our tax system will not be improved. To effectively
and efficiently collect taxes from taxpayers, especially from politicians, we have
to upgrade our tax system, make registrations/tax declarations/payments online,
and eliminate unnecessary regulations that only make our system more
complicated. The BIR should not only invest in human resources. Creating a
better tax system is a job that must be initiated by our congressmen and
senators – the lawmakers. Thus, they have to consult not only with the BIR,
Department of Finance and DTI, but also with various independent tax experts,
the business sector, and other taxpayers who are affected by our tax system.

Fourth, there should be a regular surprise examination of all government

offices. The Civil Service Commission is the agency mandated to promote and
administer efficient and effective personnel in the government. They should see
to it that the Anti-Red Tape Law or RA 9485 is well enforced in all government
offices. Government employees can also commit corruption. If they don’t do their
job to serve the public well or if they don’t work for the hours the government is
paying them, that’s already a form of corruption. Thus, the CSC should ensure
that all government personnel are doing their job well and complying with the
Anti-red tape law and other applicable laws in our country. They should obey the
no noon breaks policy, should work beyond 5pm when necessary, and should
not commit fixing or connive with fixers. But when is the last time that the CSC
conducted surprise examination to check if the Anti-Red tape law is obeyed by
government agencies? They should do it more frequently. Installing CCTVs on all
government and public offices can also be a better solution.

Fifth, a timely governmental audit by COA or by an Independent auditing

firm should also be implemented. The Commission on Audit is the government
agency responsible for examining, preventing and reporting frauds happening in
the government. But are they doing their job efficiently? Scams are already
uncovered and reported to the public after 3 years or more. Just consider the
current Pork Barrel scam. If frauds are reported late, it’s already difficult to
recover the funds misappropriated by the culprits. Corruption in the government
should be detected earlier, not after 3 years or 5 years. If COA cannot be
efficient, then why not we consider hiring independent auditing firms to examine
the financial statements and transactions of our government bodies?

Sixth, a strict regulation of all corporations in the Philippines is a must.

The Securities and Exchange Commission or SEC is the commission that is
responsible for regulating all corporations and partnerships, including
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foundations in the Philippines. But look at what happened to the foundations

involved in the Pork Barrel scam? Think of how Janet Napoles use those
foundations to hide all her illegal transactions. To avoid this kind of scam from
happening again, the SEC should set stricter rules for regulating all corporations,
especially foundations in the country. They should ensure that all the members
and board of trustees of any foundation are real and in good faith.

We really need an improved integrity in our justice system

We have existing good laws in the Philippines. The problem is the low integrity of
our justice system. Our laws, themselves, suffer from injustice because they
aren’t respected and protected by the authorities that should be protecting them
in the first place. Corrupt politicians and government officials are not usually sent
to jail. To improve the integrity of our justice system, there should be a
collaboration among the DOJ, Office of the Ombudsman, PNP, NBI, courts, and
the civil society to uphold justice in our country. There should also be a more
effective witness protection program to make sure that all witnesses or whistle
blowers, including their families will be safe and protected. Moreover, they should
be rewarded and well-compensated to support their family while they are under a
witness protection. Just like the Mandatory Continuing Legal Education Program
(MCLE), there should be a continuing professional education requirements for
politicians. Being a politician or a public official is one of the greatest profession
in the world. It requires a lot of leadership skills and knowledge in law, economy,
ethics, humanity and others. To make sure our government officials, senators,
congressmen, mayors, governors, et cetera are currently capable in doing their
respective job, they should be required to have a minimum credit units of
continuing professional education every year. If they can’t comply, then they
should be fired out from their positions.

Another solution is to implement a quota requirement for all legislators in

our country. Senators and congressmen, as their main job is to create laws,
should maintain a certain number of laws proposed or passed every year as a
quota. Pork barrel should definitely be abolished so that they can only
concentrate in enacting useful laws that can make our country progress and
make the lives of the Filipinos better.

There is an understanding that addressing corruption is a not a simple

task for it has the ability to permeate different sectors, to manifest in different
form, to grow sophisticated, and to get complicated in the web of conniving
individuals be they from the high- or the low-ranks, or be they from the public or
the private sectors. The lessons from the Philippines may not be of a great model
because corruption is far from being weeded out of its soil. Over the years,
however, the country is able to display its consistent effort to fight corruption
using the legislative measures and prevention programs that go hand-in-hand
with aggressive investigation and prosecution of public offenders, and the
continuous promotion of integrity work. It has secured venues to seek redress.
The country has also welcomed technical assistance from international
communities and dove into making anticorruption drive a multi-sectoral
discourse. It has numerous laws that prevent corruption, nevertheless, even the
legislators themselves are the primary violators.

To sum it up, Corruption is a great evil of society. Even laws cannot prevent
corruption. This evil should be quickly eliminated from society. Corruption is the
 P a g e | 26

poison that has penetrated the minds of many individuals these days. Hopefully,
with consistent political and social efforts, we can get rid of corruption.