DND to invite UK watchdog on fight vs corruption

MANILA, Philippines - The Department of National Defense (DND) will invite international watchdog Transparency International UK to discuss the measures it has implemented to prevent corruption in the military.

Defense Assistant Secretary Patrick Velez said the invitation would allow the group to validate the findings of their report that the Philippines’ defense sector is at “very high risk” of corruption.

“We welcome their efforts (to look) at the status of our procurement,” Velez said in a press conference yesterday.

Transparency International UK reported the Philippines is among the countries where risk of corruption in the defense sector is “very high.”

In a report released Tuesday, the group cited the alleged lack of transparency in the sale of military assets and the weak oversight authority of Congress.

The Philippines was put under “band E,” described as a group of countries with “very high risk” of corruption.

Also in “band E” are Afghanistan, Bahrain, Cote d’Ivoire, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Morocco, Nigeria, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sri Lanka, Tunisia, Uganda, Uzbekistan, Venezuela and Zimbabwe.

Defense officials expressed confidence that the assessment on the Philippines would improve once they see the procurement reforms that have been undertaken.

“If this is revalidated, we are confident that we can go to band B,” defense spokesman Peter Galvez said.

“Band B” pertains to countries with “low risk” of corruption and includes Austria, Norway, South Korea, Sweden, Taiwan, United Kingdom and the United States.

Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin said reports about the corruption controversies involving some military officers might have influenced the findings of the study.

“We have instituted several reforms. Even our bidding process right now is very transparent. We invite the media, we invite the civil society organizations,” he said.

The groupings in the Transparency International report are band A or “very low risk,” band B or “low risk,” band C or “moderate risk,” band D or “high risk,” band E or “very high risk” and band F or “critical risk.”

Transparency analyzed 82 countries that were selected according to the size of their arms trade, the absolute and per capita size of the military and the size of their security sector.

In its study, Transparency said political corruption risks are the most prevalent in the Philippines due to lack of congressional oversight.

It claimed that some in the Philippine government use their powers to influence defense policy.

The study also cited investigations that found that officers involved in the internal audit of defense expenditure were “heavily implicated in widespread corruption.”

The report said there is evidence indicating that proceeds from the sale of military assets are “neither publicly scrutinized nor subject to official audit mechanisms.”