Report reveals need for RP reform

MANILA: So Joseph Estrada has been toppled from power, but how much has the situation really changed in the Philippines?

That was the rhetorical question posed not by Singapore's Senior Minister Lee Kuan Yew but by the Singapore-based Political and Economic Risk Consultancy (PERC) as it analyzed the results of its latest survey on corruption in 12 Asian countries. And if there is a suggestion of disappointment, frustration or rebuke in the question, the PERC has a very good reason for it.

According to this year's survey of 700 expatriate businessmen, the Philippines is down there among the most graft-ridden countries of Asia, with a rating of 9 on a scale of 10, where a lower score means a lower incidence of corruption in the perception of the respondents. Only Vietnam with 9.75, Indonesia with 9.5 and India with 9.25 got worse ratings. At the opposite end were Singapore with 0.83, Japan with 2.5 and Hong Kong with 3.77, the only countries that merited what may be called passing marks.

And not only did the Philippines do very poorly in comparison with Asia's cleanest countries, it was also sinking lower and lower with each passing year in the estimation of foreign businessmen. A similar PERC survey done in 1999 put the country at 6.71 in the corruption index while another one done last year had it sliding down to 8.67.

In the 2001 survey, the PERC put the Philippines in the same category as Thailand which got a rating of 8.55.

In these two countries, the firm said, "corruption is a serious problem but no one seems to be in a big hurry to change the system." People, and especially their leaders, "seem to shrug off the problem as just the way things are." It takes a really big scandal to move the government to action.

Presidential spokesperson Renato Corona quickly tried to deflect blame for the Philippines' unsavory reputation among foreign businessmen, saying the Macapagal administration has only been in office for two months. "Perhaps (PERC is) referring to the previous administration," he said.

Certainly it's a bit too early to judge the Macapagal administration. But even if that verdict was largely influenced by the pervasive graft and corruption of Estrada and his mistresses and cronies, there can be no mistaking the impatience of foreign businessmen with the way the new administration is dealing with the problem of corruption.

Such impatience can't be explained solely by the long and laborious process of bringing Estrada to court. The businessmen can be presumed to understand this. Most likely their impatience stems from the administration's tendency to wink at some suspicious transactions that came to light early in its term, involving people who helped put Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in power, such as her supporters in the military.

In fact, beyond the rhetoric about making transparency an administration policy and minimizing corruption "to a degree as to be tolerable to the civic conscience of the community and to constitute no hindrance to economic growth," as Macapagal said the other day, the new administration has shown little indication that it is ready to tackle the problem decisively.

On the contrary, it has even continued the old practice of giving away billions in congressional pork barrel which has been shown time and again to be a rich source of kickbacks and grease money for lawmakers and other public officials.

How then can the country improve its image? The PERC says it would help greatly if the country had a legal system that is able to fight the problem effectively, a government that is leading the cleanup effort and a citizenry that frowns on corrupt practices.

The Philippines apparently flunks on all three counts in the eyes of foreign businessmen. The Macapagal administration has to do a lot more than just point its finger at the previous administration if it intends to reverse that unflattering perception.

-- Philippine Daily Inquirer/Asia News Network