‘Too many laws, too many agencies hampering anti-corruption drive’

Too many laws and the lack of a single independent anti-corruption agency prevent the government from fighting corruption in the Philippines, a top Asian Development Bank (ADB) official said yesterday.

"Research in Asia shows that countries which are more successful in fighting corruption have one independent anti-corruption agency and… if you multiply the number of agencies that are dealing with corruption, you dilute the situation," Jak Jabes told a forum of Southeast Asian parliamentarians.

Jabes, ADB’s director of governance and regional cooperation, cited Singapore and Hong Kong as countries that have "one strong, independent anti-corruption commission" and where corruption had been curbed.

He said the Philippines, in contrast, had "too much dilution, too many agencies, too many people, too many laws."

Jabes had presented the ADB’s Anti-Corruption Initiative for the Asia-Pacific, which proposes a trial advocacy skills development program for the Philippines. The ADB said it saw the need to develop effective and transparent systems for public service, resulting in an increased capacity among special prosecution officers in the Office of the Ombudsman.

"Reduce the number of units in government that deal with corruption. (It is) much better to have one as opposed to many," he said.

But during the discussion, Sen. Edgardo Angara challenged the ADB’s initiative, saying it failed to provide an effective communication program for the legislature, judiciary and executive branches of government. Angara represents Asia in the executive committee of the Global Organization of Parliamentarians Against Corruption (GOPAC).

"That is my criticism of multi-agency initiatives. They are operating at so high a level that they don’t first of all study the culture, the political culture of this country. Like in the Philippines, I don’t think that they can get anything done without having legislators involved," he said.

Angara admitted the Philippines had not made much headway against corruption, despite many laws and agencies tasked to do the job. A legislator from Thailand said they, too, have many laws and agencies to fight corruption but their country remains one of the most corrupt in Asia.

In the case of the Philippines, Jabes said political will is important in the effort to stop corruption in the country.

"I suggest a combination of things that we need to do: an independent anti-corruption agency, a clear-cut legal and institutional framework, and increasing civil service pay," he said. "These are all decisions that a government needs to look to within its own reality and decide."

Jabes also welcomed a proposal by chief presidential legal counsel Secretary Merceditas Gutierrez to have a national action plan on corruption. She presented her ideas during a speech at the Conference of Southeast Asia Parliamentarians Against Corruption (SEAPAC) at the Philippine International Convention Center in Pasay City.

As she outlined President Arroyo’s anti-corruption activities, Gutierrez agreed with a Cambodian parliamentarian who said "moral issues and public awareness" are important weapons in the fight against corruption.

"It is now that (corruption) is seen as a moral issue that the Church should play a role in informing the public because it impacts on the economic development of the country," she said.

Jabes, in a statement he issued during a briefing with participants of the SEAPAC conference, said that governments need to fight corruption because it has devastating effects on political stability and economic growth, raises the cost of doing business, deters foreign investment, and is a "cancer" on development.

Dr. Wang Kai Yuen of Singapore said governments should not merely focus on political issues to fight corruption but also on the integrity of the people occupying the highest posts in the land.

"The top person must be clean to be able to eradicate corruption," he said, noting that elective officials have an "inherent tendency" to encourage corruption in their respective countries.

Gutierrez, whom Mrs. Arroyo named anti-corruption chief, also said the government is in for an uphill battle against corruption because of shamelessly corrupt officials who actively fight against those who are honest in their midst.

"We have had honest-to-goodness attempts in the past to combat corruption. Only the battle proved itself too tough to wage," she said in her speech during the GOPAC meeting yesterday.

Gutierrez said this was because Filipinos regard corruption nowadays as a "prelude to respectability."

"Today, as long as you’re rich and display your largesse frequently enough — supporting causes when the opportunity comes, careful to become a member or official of a well-known civic group, maintaining an air of respect towards other people — all these seem to cast (one) almost automatically as one of the humble rich, (an) openhearted and supportive member of the community," she said.

Gutierrez added that "no critical thought is given as to how (you) became rich and whether or not your refined manners are just pretenses to mask the kind of greedy person you really are."

She noted that since corruption was becoming "a way of life" for some people, to be clean "is to be an oddball" and "may even spell danger" because those into illegal activities may look upon honest people as "squealers."

"Is being clean worth the danger? Is it a virtue or a liability? Many of our people no longer seem to know," Gutierrez said.

She pointed out that the government has not been effective in communicating to the public the evils of corruption. - with Aurea Calica