EDITORIAL - Once again, the most corrupt

In every survey on corruption, the same agencies consistently emerge as the most notorious. Heads of these agencies, most of them revenue-generating, can dismiss those survey results as perceptions based on inaccurate data. Much of that public perception, however, is also based on personal experience with a bureaucracy that often moves smoothly only with grease money.

What may be unfair for the agencies that topped the list in a Social Weather Stations survey is that corruption is pervasive not just in the agencies singled out but also in all government offices. Even Malacañang and the First Family have not been spared from corruption scandals.

The Land Transportation Office at least has won ISO certification for a new processing system that cuts red tape. For the rest of those on the list, however, it is of little use to point out that the SWS survey was taken way back in December last year, since the same agencies keep topping these polls.

The proper response to such surveys is not to be in denial, but to identify what factors open opportunities for corruption, and eradicate those opportunities. Red tape and general inefficiency open doors for graft. People who hate waiting or standing in line for anything are easily enticed by fixers. Businessmen who want to cut through a tangle of red tape learn early to resort to bribery.

Of course there is the public servant who, in the absence of opportunities for graft, creates them. These are the ones who openly solicit bribes or kickbacks. Their activities add to the cost of doing business in this country. These people can be neutralized through a no-nonsense campaign against corruption, which can include tax probes. In cases involving the business community, an efficient regulatory environment and predictable investment policies can discourage graft.

Corruption may be deeply rooted in Philippine culture, but every little step will put the nation closer to its dream of stamping out graft. This is not an impossible dream.