Corruption

I.
INTRODUCTION
The most common definition of corruption, that used by the World Bank [1997a:102:
1997b:8] and other organizations, is “the abuse of public power for private gain”. This definition
can be disingenuously general, depending on how broadly one construes “public power” and
“private gain”. ROSE-Ackerman [1998] gives a definition that is suited mostly to bribes: “an
illegal payment to a public agent to obtain a benefit that may or may not be deserved in the absence
of payoffs”.
As is evident from the above examples, the typical definition of corruption involves the
notion of the “public” in a fundamental sense. For this reason it is customary to regard the main
focus of corruption as government and as invariably involving public officials. Some examples are
overpricing practiced by supply managers, excessive charging of personal bills at company
expense, and so on. By sufficiently extending the concept of principal and agent defined below,
however, a good deal of breach of trust in the private sector may also be subsumed under
corruption. For the purposes of this paper, however, corruption shall be used to refer only to cases
involving acts of public officials or pertaining to public assets.
II. BODY
Nowadays, foreigners and citizens alike say that the Philippines has the most corrupt
leadership and economy. Corruption in the Philippines has become "a humanitarian crisis" and
scandals increasingly seem to dominate the news. The worsening corruption has eaten up the right
of every citizen to good governance, freedom, decent life, and more importantly his or her dignity.
In the early 1960s, the Philippines was an economic power. In fact, during the era, the
archipelago nation boasted one of the largest economies in Asia, behind only Japan.
Today, while it remains an important part of Asean and the world community at large, it's
safe to say that those glory days are long over. When most outsiders think of the Philippines today,
it is political instability, economic struggle, crime and corruption that often come to mind.
Corruption scandals are only "closed" by the fact of other corruption scandals taking its
place. New scandals take over and the old ones are left hanging and unresolved. The media is
literally sinking in reporting scandals to try and ensure closure on each one. Nobody ever seems
to be punished: They are left to leave the country, get confined to their state-of-art hospitals, resign,
get offered early retirement package - even get reassigned. Worse, executive orders are sometimes
issued preventing them from talking during congressional or other independent hearings.
Corruption, is a serious problems in the Philippines. They pervade public life, keeping tax
revenues low and hurting efforts to alleviate poverty. Charges of corruption, graft, and cronyism
are common among government officials at all levels. These problems are so entrenched that
Filipinos have come to accept cronyism and the diversion of a small percentage of funds as natural.
The Philippines ranked 94th out of 177 countries in Transparency International's 2013
corruption index, rising from 129th two years earlier, after Mr. Aquino pursued corruption charges
against former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and former Chief Justice Renato Corona, both
of whom maintain their innocence. [Source: Trefor Moss, Wall Street Journal, May 29, 2014]
In the 1990s the Philippines was regarded as one of the world’s most corrupt nations. Most
corrupt nations: 1) Nigeria; 2) Pakistan; 3) Kenya; 4) China; 5) Cameroon; 6) Egypt; 7) Columbia;
8) Uganda; 9) the Philippines; 10) Indonesia. [Source: Transparency International]
According to business-anti-corruption.com: Corruption is said to take place at all levels of

the government, but it is more rampant among high-level civil servants. For businesses, it is
important to note that the country's complex, sometimes contradictory regulatory regime leaves
room for corrupt civil servants to attempt to extract bribes. Several surveys have also shown that
companies generally have little confidence in the Philippine judicial system. The main reasons
include the allegedly incompetent court personnel, corruption and long delays of court cases. There
is a lack of transparency in the Philippines' public procurement, and bribes are often demanded
from companies wishing to win government contracts, as shown by the Survey of Enterprises on
Corruption 2014. Another sector in which companies are particularly vulnerable is obtaining
licenses and permits; the Survey of Enterprises on Corruption 2014 shows that the most common
type of private sector corruption was bribing local government officials in return for licenses and
permits in 2012 and 2013.
III. CONCLUSION
Corruption is a serious obstacle to the social and economic development of a country. The
biggest losers are the Filipino people. In effect, the end-users are made to pay for overpriced goods
or services or are made to deal with low-quality or substandard goods or services.
Despite the seriousness of the problem, people in government seem to show no sense of
urgency or ‘mastery' of the steps necessary to fight it. The same government that taxes us must
demonstrate that public money is being used for public good, not private greed.
It is our right to demand real change, action and improvement from those who take our
money from and spend it in our name.
When political leaders lie, cheat and steal, when public offices become a common public
curse especially in terms of graft and corruption, when public funds go to private pockets, then we
begin to realize...
Corruption is the gravest threat to Philippine democracy and society today. We must stop
graft and corruption in our country. It is a disease, a cancer that eats into the cultural, political and
economic fabric of society, and destroys the functioning of vital organs.
A Changing Nation - Changing for the worse ... bribery, corruption and finally, pardon for
plundering leaders. The trouble in our country is uncontrollable corruption and greed at the highest
level. But still we love our country Philippines.
SELECTED REFERENCES:
Business-anti-corruption.com
http://factsanddetails.com/southeast-asia/Philippines/sub5_6f/entry-3906.html
https://www.taclobanhotels.com/CORRUPTION-IN-THE-PHILIPPINES.htm

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I.

According to business-anti-corruption.com: Corruption is said to take place at all levels of

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