Corruption as a Political Challenge in Philippines
CORRUPTION AS A POLITICAL CHALLENGE IN PHILIPPINES
By Romil Jagunap
I. INTRODUCTION
Philippines held its 15th presidential election last May 10, 2010. The obvious winner of the said election was Mr. Benigno “Noynoy” Aguino III. He won by landslide garnering 42% from more than 36 million total votes. Noynoy won the heart of the Filipino people during the May 2010 election thru his campaign on clean government and on his fight to eradicate corruption to drive economic growth and to alleviate poverty.
This paper will examine the political challenges that the incumbent president is facing in eradicating corruption. The scope of this review encompasses the political aspect of corruption and its effect on the economy.
There are also other factors that hinder the economic growth such as the unfavorable business environment, peace & security issues, population explosion, brain drain, colonial mentality, weak infrastructure, low technological innovation, weak education system, creaking health system, etc. but all these challenges will not be discussed due to the limitation of space and time allocated to complete this report.
II. POLITICAL ASPECT OF CORRUPTION IN PHILIPPINES
World Bank defines corruption as “the abuse of public power for private gain”. In Philippines corruption comes in different framework such as bribery, extortion, cronyism, nepotism, patronage, graft, and embezzlement of public funds.
Based on the 2010 Worldwide Corruption Perceptions, Philippines is ranked very low at 134 out of 178 countries. Some of the highly publicized corruptions are summarized below.
1. Electoral Process. Political candidates are seeking donors to finance their marketing campaign. This is where nepotism and cronyism take place. Businessmen and rich relatives who help fund the marketing campaign will ask favor in return once the politician won the election. Some politicians have used
By Romil Jagunap
I. INTRODUCTION
Philippines held its 15th presidential election last May 10, 2010. The obvious winner of the said election was Mr. Benigno “Noynoy” Aguino III. He won by landslide garnering 42% from more than 36 million total votes. Noynoy won the heart of the Filipino people during the May 2010 election thru his campaign on clean government and on his fight to eradicate corruption to drive economic growth and to alleviate poverty.
This paper will examine the political challenges that the incumbent president is facing in eradicating corruption. The scope of this review encompasses the political aspect of corruption and its effect on the economy.
There are also other factors that hinder the economic growth such as the unfavorable business environment, peace & security issues, population explosion, brain drain, colonial mentality, weak infrastructure, low technological innovation, weak education system, creaking health system, etc. but all these challenges will not be discussed due to the limitation of space and time allocated to complete this report.
II. POLITICAL ASPECT OF CORRUPTION IN PHILIPPINES
World Bank defines corruption as “the abuse of public power for private gain”. In Philippines corruption comes in different framework such as bribery, extortion, cronyism, nepotism, patronage, graft, and embezzlement of public funds.
Based on the 2010 Worldwide Corruption Perceptions, Philippines is ranked very low at 134 out of 178 countries. Some of the highly publicized corruptions are summarized below.
1. Electoral Process. Political candidates are seeking donors to finance their marketing campaign. This is where nepotism and cronyism take place. Businessmen and rich relatives who help fund the marketing campaign will ask favor in return once the politician won the election. Some politicians have used