‘RP is 3rd most corrupt in Asia’

The Philippines is the third most corrupt nation in Asia and is ranked 11th among the countries with the worst corruption cases in the world, according to an ABS-CBN report quoting a study conducted by Transparency International, a global anti-corruption coalition.

The Philippines was ranked the third most corrupt Asian country, after Bangladesh and Indonesia, the report aired over "TV Patrol" last night said.

Civil Service Commission (CSC) Chairman Karina David, meanwhile, disclosed that $48 billion or P2.6 trillion was lost to corrupt practices in government over the past 20 years.

This translates into P100 billion wasted annually through a wide range of scams in government offices, the report said.

In last year’s Transparency International survey, the Philippines ranked 11th among the most corrupt countries on the planet, sharing the spot with Pakistan, Romania and Zambia, and placed only 10 notches away from Bangladesh, which was tagged as the world’s most corrupt country.

Transparency International surveyed business people and risk analysts on their perceptions regarding the degree of corruption. A score of 10 in the Corruption Perception Index (CPI) meant that the nation was perceived as clean or relatively corruption-free, while a score of zero meant a nation was perceived as highly corrupt.

In the 2002 survey, Finland emerged as the most corruption-free country, scoring 9.7 points on the 10-point scale of the CPI. In contrast, Bangladesh garnered a score of 1.2, while the Philippines’ score was 2.6.

Transparency International took a total of 15 surveys used by nine independent institutions. To be included in the CPI rankings, at least three surveys had to be administered to locals and expatriates in the subject country.

Transparency International explained that its definition of corruption involves the abuse of "public office for private gain." The questions asked in the survey include the misuse of public power for private benefit, with focus on bribe-taking on the part of government officials.

The CSC said 30 percent of government employees were involved in corruption. The remaining 70 percent have knowledge of crooked practices but choose to do and say nothing about these corrupt practices.

David said the ongoing lifestyle and morality check on all government employees and officials might help curb corruption in the Philippines. "The more immoral your lifestyle is, the more penchant (you have) for corruption."