cursing the culture of corruption

Of late local dailies came out with the news that in the 2002 Corruption Perception Index the Philippines bears a lowly 2.6 mark in a ranking, which ranges between 10 (highly clean) and 0 (highly corrupt). This 2002 Index is actually the result of a global survey conducted jointly by CeGE, Goettingen University and Transparency International. In the same survey, our beloved country is relegated to the 77th slot sadly sharing the fate with Pakistan, Romania and Zambia. Finland gets the 1st slot while Bangladesh wallows the tail end at the 102nd. Uncle Sam who is neither too clean occupies the 16th. Spain who once called this archipelago which we endearingly call the Pearl of the Orient Seas, an island of thieves (Islas de Ladrones), made it to the 20th.

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Notably, the culture of corruption is spreading like an infectious disease. As reports have it, the dominant types of corruption in the Philippines have evolved from nepotism, to smuggling, to public-works contracts, to debt-finance schemes asset privatizations, until the recent descent into the underworld-related activities. With the sacking of the past president, now we cannot be more knowledgeable that corruption is a virus that is capable of crippling governments, discrediting public institutions and private corporations and, in the end, having a devastating impact on society and its development: devastating to the economy, devastating to the legitimacy and stability of government and devastating to the moral fabric of society. At the end of the day, it is always the poor that have to pay the price.
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In Samar as in any part of the country, corruption is considered inevitable. It is being tolerated as an unavoidable aspect of governance. In fact, it has become standard. The byword is S.O.P.—it’s a standard operating procedure. Whenever a contractor receives a project, for instance, from the government immediately 30% or so is slashed from the project budget. The chain of corruption continues until it reaches the barangay officials who themselves will receive the S.O.P. by signing the acceptance voucher for the understandably substandard project. This “standard” has been going on for ages. Observably, corruption flourishes when the government administration is weak, laws are not enforced, political will is lacking, and when citizens and the media have become desensitized. More than being “desensitized”, the media in Western Samar has been lately accused of “dancing with wolves”—how true or how false!

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The unbroken cycle of this age-old scourge begins and ends during elections. Any voter who sells votes contributes to the build up of a corrupt government, so that the growth of corruption is a confluence of everybody’s efforts—rich and poor alike. A corrupt congressman or governor is actually the making of the people themselves who propelled him/her to power.
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In the absence of more concrete indicators, we can just surmise that corruption in all three provinces of Samar today is rising to proverbial proportions. If such is the case, then this is the time to wring the necks of these vultures before the poor of Samar are eaten up alive. Controlling if not eradicating corruption is not an unreachable star. As we enter the 21st century, more people throughout the world are rejecting the notion that corruption can never be avoided. Perhaps we can begin with transparency in governance. Or start focusing our attention on areas like government hiring and promotions, employee compensation, internal controls and auditing procedures. Of course, the media, civil society and the private sector are indispensable partners for government in this endeavor. If we can swing this, then development of Samar will soar to heights beyond what we have ever imagined. This, I think, is better than just being apathetic and continue cursing the culture of corruption.