EDITORIAL — 115th in transparency

With the recent controversy involving secret funds for both national and local government agencies, people may question the improvement, slight as it is at just one notch, in the Philippines’ ranking in the 2023 Corruption Perceptions Index.

The CPI, drawn up by Transparency International, ranked the Philippines 115th out of 180 countries and territories – up from 116th in 2022 – with its overall score of 34 below the global average of 43 and the Asia-Pacific average of 45. In Southeast Asia, the Philippines ranked behind Singapore, Malaysia, Timor-Leste, Vietnam and Thailand. The Philippines had the same score as Indonesia, and ranked ahead only of Laos, Cambodia and Myanmar.

Transparency and good government are major draws for job-generating investments. Yet fighting corruption and getting serious with improving ease of doing business have not been given sufficient focus by the government. This is strange for an administration that is moving to amend the Constitution ostensibly to make the country more attractive to investments and more competitive in a global economy.

Instead the country is currently embroiled in a controversial campaign to gather signatures for a supposed people’s initiative that will effectively give the House of Representatives the power to amend the Constitution even without the Senate’s agreement, with funds from government aid programs allegedly being used to bankroll the signature gathering. The political warfare that has erupted over this initiative is creating the kind of instability that is counterproductive to any effort to make the country more investment-friendly.

Last Sunday, President Marcos launched what was described as a government rebranding under the banner of “Bagong Pilipinas” or New Philippines. In the New Philippines, being lazy and slow has no place in public service, the President said. “Services must be fast. Projects must be completed on time. Deadlines must be met per schedule. Distress calls must be responded to without delay.”

Previous presidents have issued similar statements. In addition to the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act and the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees, two laws against red tape and promoting ease of doing business have been passed in recent years.

Yet large-scale corruption scandals continued to rock the country, even at the height of the pandemic lockdowns involving supplies for the COVID-19 response. The big fish typically get away, leaving the small fry to suffer the consequences of corruption in high places. Every aspect of the criminal justice system is compromised and promotes impunity. The country, which has one of the world’s strictest bank secrecy laws, is currently in the gray list of money laundering havens. It’s amazing that the country saw an improvement in its transparency ranking.