Graft and Corruption
A. INTRODUCTION
In 1988, graft and corruption in the Philippines was considered as the "biggest problem of all" by Jaime Cardinal Sin, the Archbishop of Manila. Then President Corazon C. Aquino likewise despaired that corruption has returned. In 1989, public perception was that "corrupt government officials are greater threat to the country" than the communist guerrillas. In 1992, former President Fidel V. Ramos considered graft and corruption as the third major hindrance towards attaining his development strategy for the country.
A decade later, in 1998, the country got good marks from Transparency International and the Political and Economic Risk Consultancy (PERC), LTD. The Philippines then placed 6th out of the 11 Asian countries surveyed under the PERC corruption perception index (CPI), a measure of lost development opportunities in terms of investment.
However, 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 Philippine as still corrupt and being unable to effectively fight this problem.
Indeed, today, graft and corruption in the Philippines remains. About 30 % of the national budget is reportedly lost to graft and corruption every year. Thus, the 1999 budget of P 590 billion pesos (approximately US$15.5 billion) will stand to lose about P 170 billion pesos (approximately US $ 4.47 billion).
The administration of President Joseph Ejercito Estrada has vowed to reduce graft and corruption by 80 % before the end of his term.
B. SPECIFIC TYPES OF CORRUPTION IN THE PHILIPPINES
There are 8 types of corruption frequently practiced in the Philippines namely: tax evasion, ghost projects and payrolls, evasion of public bidding in awarding of contracts, passing of contracts, nepotism and favoritism, extortion, protection money and bribery.
Tax Evasion
This is very rampant, particularly in the private sector due to
In 1988, graft and corruption in the Philippines was considered as the "biggest problem of all" by Jaime Cardinal Sin, the Archbishop of Manila. Then President Corazon C. Aquino likewise despaired that corruption has returned. In 1989, public perception was that "corrupt government officials are greater threat to the country" than the communist guerrillas. In 1992, former President Fidel V. Ramos considered graft and corruption as the third major hindrance towards attaining his development strategy for the country.
A decade later, in 1998, the country got good marks from Transparency International and the Political and Economic Risk Consultancy (PERC), LTD. The Philippines then placed 6th out of the 11 Asian countries surveyed under the PERC corruption perception index (CPI), a measure of lost development opportunities in terms of investment.
However, 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 Philippine as still corrupt and being unable to effectively fight this problem.
Indeed, today, graft and corruption in the Philippines remains. About 30 % of the national budget is reportedly lost to graft and corruption every year. Thus, the 1999 budget of P 590 billion pesos (approximately US$15.5 billion) will stand to lose about P 170 billion pesos (approximately US $ 4.47 billion).
The administration of President Joseph Ejercito Estrada has vowed to reduce graft and corruption by 80 % before the end of his term.
B. SPECIFIC TYPES OF CORRUPTION IN THE PHILIPPINES
There are 8 types of corruption frequently practiced in the Philippines namely: tax evasion, ghost projects and payrolls, evasion of public bidding in awarding of contracts, passing of contracts, nepotism and favoritism, extortion, protection money and bribery.
Tax Evasion
This is very rampant, particularly in the private sector due to