DepEd No. 1 least corrupt government agency

MANILA, Philippines - Education Secretary Jesli Lapus said that he was happy over the Department of Education (DepEd) landing at the No. 1 spot among government agencies perceived as least corrupt in a survey conducted by pollster Pulse Asia.

“We feel good about us getting the top spot in the list of least corrupt agencies,” Lapus told the STAR in a phone interview. He, however, shrugged off the fact that while DepEd was perceived to be least corrupt, it also landed in the list of perceived most corrupt government agencies, even getting the top 5 slot after the DPWH, the PNP, the Department of Agriculture, and the Bureau of Internal Revenue.

Lapus said that it was up to Pulse Asia to explain the matter, stressing that he preferred to look at the survey results positively. Lapus said that being the agency perceived as least corrupt means that the reforms he had instituted since coming on board at DepEd in 2006 had started to bear fruit.

“We have implemented a lot of reforms here. It’s obvious that the corruption has been reduced,” Lapus said.

In the last survey, DepEd has ranked third in the list of government agencies perceived as least corrupt. — Rainier Allan Ronda