MALAYA: 8 of 9 see worsening corruption under Gloria

By ANTHONY IAN CRUZ
Malaya
Dec. 11, 2007

Seventy-nine percent of Filipinos polled by Transparency International, a global anti-corruption watchdog, expect bribery, graft and corruption to get worse in the next three years.

The TI survey “Global Corruption Barometer 2007” said only 19 percent of the respondents expect improvement in the next three years, or up to 2010 when President Arroyo’s term expires, while 2 percent expect no changes.

The survey also found that Filipinos view religious bodies and the media as either “not corrupt” or “least affected” by corruption but see the police, Congress and political parties as the most tainted by corruption.

The report was unveiled by TI’s Philippine chapter yesterday, a day after the international community marked World Anti-Corruption Day.

The TI survey covered 63,199 respondents in 60 countries with surveys done by Gallup International and local affiliate Asia Research Organization between June and September 2007.

Activist priest Joe Dizon, spokesman of the group PlunderWatch, said the TI results were “very accurate.”

“It reaffirms the widespread view that corruption has gone to unprecedented and historic lows under President Arroyo. She is to blame for the destruction of democratic institutions, such as the police and Congress, through bribery,” he said.

Filipinos’ level of pessimism over government corruption is highest in Southeast Asia and second highest in the world, the TI survey said.

TI said the Philippines is now second only to India in terms of pessimism over corruption incidence.

Other countries that registered over 70 percent pessimism among their citizens are Senegal, South Africa, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom.

The TI survey also found that most Filipinos give failing marks to the Arroyo government’s anti-corruption efforts.

It said 64 percent of Filipino respondents consider the Arroyo government ineffective in fighting corruption, as against 35 percent who share a positive view.

Filipinos’ negative view on the Arroyo’s anti-corruption initiatives is also the highest in the region.

The survey also found that Filipinos view the Philippine National Police as the government agency most affected by corruption, followed by Congress, political parties, tax offices and the courts.

Asked to give the agencies ratings from 1 for “not at all corrupt” to 5 for “extremely corrupt,” Filipino respondents gave the PNP a rating of 3.6, Congress 3.5, political parties 3.4, tax offices 3.1 and the judiciary 3.

Last month, members of Congress and some provincial governors belonging to Arroyo’s ruling coalition were accused of receiving hundreds of thousands of pesos in purported bribes in exchange for continued support to the President and the killing of a new impeachment complaint against her.

The House of Representatives trashed the impeachment complaint last November 26.

Filipinos gave positive ratings to religious bodies (1.8) and media (2.1), finding them not corrupt or least affected by corruption.

The TI explained that the public perceptions of corruption in legislatures, such as Congress, undermine the legitimacy of government and those who govern in many countries because the integrity of the lawmaking body has been compromised.