School offers anti-corruption course

Corruption in the Philippines is so prevalent that public servants are going back to school to learn how to curb this economic and social menace.

For the first time, a graduate certificate course in corruption prevention will be offered in the country, aimed at arming executives in government agencies with the knowledge and skills to combat corruption.

Twenty-two "students" from various government agencies that are perceived to be "corrupt-prone" – including the Philippine National Police – are taking the course, which was formally launched yesterday.

The course is offered by the Graduate School of Public and Development Management of the Development Academy of the Philippines (DAP).

At the end of the study, the students are expected to have earned 15 units, which they can use in applying for a master’s degree in public management, major in corruption studies, at the DAP.

"The modules were designed specifically for the Philippines. These were geared towards weeding out corruption in government agencies. As such, the intended students of the course are government executives who could effectively influence their respective agencies," explained assistant project officer Annabel Mendoza.

The project is supported by the Presidential Anti-Graft Commission, the Office of the Ombudsman and the Civil Service Commission.

According to Mendoza, DAP was tapped by the Rule of Law Effectiveness (RULE) of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) to design an intervention that will target executives in government with the aim of weeding out corruption in the system.

These executives in turn are expected to form an "integrity network" of government executives who will then work on more intense anti-corruption efforts.

Mendoza said the graduate certificate course will run for nine months on a modular setup with students attending classes at the DAP office in Pasig City four times every other week. The training modules will be provided by the USAID.

According to Mendoza, the graduate anti-corruption course is part of the grant given by the US government for the Philippines to fight corruption.

Mendoza also said that at the end of the course, the students are expected to finish an individual project proposal that could be used by their respective agencies as an action plan against corruption.

According to Mendoza, the 22 students of the course were nominated by the heads of their respective agencies.

"The primary anti-corruption strategy of the Philippine government is to get the act of the stakeholders together – mapping what each sector is doing in fighting corruption and ensuring that initiatives are mutually supportive. This requires a shared awareness of the total effort required to achieve this goal and an identification of the areas for enhancing anti-corruption initiatives," DAP said in a statement.

Mendoza said the course would employ a learner-centered approach with the students tasked to find solutions to actual corruption problems presented to them.

Several workshops and small group discussions will also be integrated with the program with the aim of applying theories to practical exercises.