EDITORIAL - 11th most corrupt

Up to P21 billion a year is lost to corruption in government procurement of goods and services alone. Corruption also pads the amount of all government contracts by up to 15 percent. These figures come from Procurement Watch Inc., and the latest survey on corruption in 102 countries tends to support the estimates on the extent of graft in this country. Transparency International, in its 2002 survey, has ranked the Philippines the 11th most corrupt among 102 nations — in the same league as Pakistan, Romania and Zambia. Our country is just 10 notches away from Bangladesh, which received the worst rating in the Corruption Perception Index.

Transparency International defines corruption as the use of public office for private gain. Filipinos are fami-liar with the problem; records of corruption can be traced as far back as the Spanish era. Investors are known to factor in grease money as part of their expenditures when doing business in the Philippines. All transactions with the government, from getting a death certificate to bagging a juicy contract, can be tainted with corruption. At the Department of Public Works and Highways, certain officials could face plunder charges for collecting P50 million in reimbursements for vehicle repairs alone.

As recent history has shown, corruption afflicts even the highest le-vels of government. The most notorious influence peddlers were close to Malacañang. Filipinos had high hopes for this administration, which was swept to power because of public disgust over a corruption scandal. The administration showed political will by arresting and detaining an ousted president and prosecuting him for plunder — a first in the nation’s history. But the administration itself has been dogged by allegations of corruption, and the bureaucratic culture that breeds graft remains intact.

Apparently smarting from the latest Transparency International survey, President Arroyo told board members of the scandal-ridden Public Estates Authority the other day to quit. The public, however, is wondering why she didn’t simply fire the board members of the PEA, which is directly under the Office of the President. Yesterday, the President also ordered a lifestyle check on all ranking public officials, from Cabinet members down to bureau chiefs. The moves are a step in the right direction, but clearly it will take so much more to improve transparency and accountabi-lity in government.