‘RP corruption worsened in 2005’

Corruption in the Philippines worsened last year, the global corruption watchdog Transparency International (TI) said in its 2006 Corruption Perception Index (CPI).

ABS-CBN reported in its website yesterday that the Berlin-based TI ranks 163 countries based on perceived levels of corruption among public officials and politicians in its CPI.

The Philippines ranked 117 last year and dropped to 121 this year, a rank shared by Russia, Rwanda, Nepal, the Honduras, Swaliland, Benin, Gambia and Guyana.

The lower the ranking, the worse the perceived corruption is in that country. In 2004, the Philippines ranked 102 of 146 countries surveyed.

TI also said in its annual CPI report that some of the world’s poorest nations were also sleaze-ridden, undermining international development efforts.

"Corruption traps million in poverty," TI chairperson Hugette Labelle said in a statement. "Despite decades of progress in establishing anti-corruption laws and regulations, today’s results indicate that much remains to be done before we see meaningful improvements in the lives of the world’s poorest citizens."

TI said corruption was shockingly rampant worldwide, with almost three-fourths of the countries in the CPI report scoring below five, including all low-income countries and all but two African states.

The index score relates to perceptions of the degree of corruption as seen by business people and country analysts. Scoring ranges from zero, which is highly corrupt, to 10, which is very clean.

Strife-torn Iraq, which has been wracked by violence since the 2003 invasion led by the United States, and impoverished Haiti, Myanmar and Guinea were ranked as the most corrupt countries in the world.

Haiti, the poorest country in the Americas, was ranked last, just below Iraq, Myanmar and Guinea, reflecting what TI said was a high correlation between violence, poverty and corruption.

"This survey suggests that corruption in Iraq is very bad," TI chief executive David Nussbaum told reporters.

"When you have high levels of violence, not only does security break down, but so do checks and balances, law enforcement and the functioning of institutions like the judiciary and legislature," Nussbaum said. "If all that is under strain, the very system that works to prevent corruption is undermined."

Iraq suffered rising sectarian violence and bloodshed since the invasion, putting pressure on US President George W. Bush ahead of today’s scheduled congressional elections.

Nussbaum said US engineering giant Bechtel Corp.’s decision to pull out of Iraq is a sign of how bad the security situation there has become. Fifty-two Bechtel employees were killed in Iraq since 2003.

Anti-corruption convention ratified

Meanwhile, the Senate ratified last night the United Nations Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC) with 17 votes.

The UNCAC aims to criminalize all acts of corruption both in the public and private sectors and provide mutual legal assistance to concerned countries.

In her sponsorship speech, Sen. Miriam Defensor Santiago said the convention’s provisions set minimum international standards for the fight against corruption and seek to promote international cooperation.

Among the issues Santiago discussed were what she described as a growing awareness over the last 15 years that hundreds of millions of dollars in Official Development Assistance (ODA) to developing countries was squandered due to corruption.

"The IMF is reported to have calculated that the annual amount that crosses borders through money laundering, bribery, corruption, fraud and tax evasion is $80 billion," she said.

The Philippines is one of the first signatories of the UN convention in December 2003.