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LINK: ‘Note Verbale‘, Manila Times (Sunday-Career Section) – 16 December 2007 Issue

A recent study on global corruption released by Transparency International put the Philippines as among the top countries with high level of petty bribery, together with Albania, Cambodia, Cameroon, Macedonia, Kosovo, Nigeria, Pakistan, Romania and Senegal.

In the 2007 Worldwide Corruption Perception Rankings of Transparency International, the country ranked 131st and tied with Honduras, Iran, Libya, Nepal and Yemen, a far-cry behind the top three nations considered as the least corrupt, Denmark, Finland and New Zealand.
 
Just this week, pollster, Pulse Asia, announced the result of an October 2007 survey that shows the incumbent president of the republic being perceived as the most corrupt vis-à-vis her predecessors Ferdinand Marcos, Corazon C. Aquino, Fidel V. Ramos and Joseph E. Estrada.

Who would argue against the proposition that the Philippines is a corrupt country?

From the time the country gained its sovereignty and political independence, the battle against corruption has always been at the forefront of every electoral issue. Quite ironically, every incumbent political administration would always claim that his or her government is or was never corrupt, or at least doing every possible means to curb corruption. But really, none of them had the political will and temerity to do so.

How can the country get rid of corruption when the bigger majority of the supposedly honorable men and women in public positions put themselves or find their way in office in the first place by corrupting the voters, or by influence peddling? What is the economics required of such public official to recover an onerous investment through a low-paying job? How should these public officials keep their benefactors constantly gratified in order to repay every political debt owed?

When a lowly driver is caught for a minor traffic violation, should he or she pay a hundred peso to the apprehending officer to go scot-free or should the violator insists that a traffic citation ticket be issued instead? When a citizen is stuck with the time-consuming and nerve-wracking bureaucratic procedures to accomplish a public requirement, would not an honest-to-goodness cost-benefit analysis produce the conclusion that it is better to pay even when it is not due than to line-up until thy kingdom come?

Isn’t it that a public official or employee, who rose from an ordinary life to a questionable life of wealth, fame, and ostentatious lifestyle that marked every ‘very important person’ and later institutionalizes his or her social standing as a political dynasty, is a very good role model to the Filipino youth to emulate? Isn’t it better to get rich quick than to dedicate one’s toil and blood to get there?

How can a public official or employee refuse a favor being sought by a member of the family, or by someone who belongs to a close circle of friends and associates, or by a classmate or a fraternity brother or sister?  Would not he or she be judged as an ingrate, swollen-headed, indifferent, and untying the ties that bind if he or she fails to give assistance or at least cooperate in compromising situations? 

Is it fair to the Filipino people for public functionaries accused or criminated with corruption to turn the table to their side by invoking the rule of law and the majesty of their constitutional rights?  But obviously, they are entitled to due process, privacy, the right against self-incrimination, presumption of innocence, executive privilege and some legal immunities, the benefits of political questions, and invoke the name of national security, are they not?

Public corruption has become a multi-million peso business to some and a cottage industry to many Filipinos. And as the country’s political history would show, it seems to be worth the time and the effort. 

By the way, it seems that getting rid of corruption is not only anti-poor. It is also anti-progress at least to those who think that hell does not exist.

That government is corrupt is perhaps not a mere perception. Regretfully, being corrupt is slowly becoming a way of life because of all the crimes, it pays.

LINK: ‘Note Verbale’, Manila Times (Sunday-Career Times) – 21 October 2007 Issue 

Accountability is an ethical concept. It simply means being responsible to someone or for some activity.

They say that originally the word was an extension of the Latin word accomptare (to account), a prefixed form of computare (to calculate), which in turn derived from putare (to reckon) and commonly used in the money lending systems that first developed in ancient Greece and later in Rome.

As it permeates human conduct, accountability connotes the existence of an obligation or a duty demanded by some social force. It can be moral, which is usually self-imposed based on the norms and culture embraced by the actor. It could also be legal when compelled by some legitimate or recognized authority. Most, if not all, of existing legal accountabilities however are premised on moral accountability. Thus, the finer distinction is hardly noticeable.

Within the framework of a global consensus leaning highly towards the promotion and protection of democratic institutions, accountability is a centerpiece concern or issue in public governance. And this has reference to the need for those who govern to be highly accountable to their constituency.

Public accountability is a legal duty because it is always defined by a set of statutes or duly promulgated rules obviously to make it obligatory. This duty always carry with it financial accountability, performance accountability and institutional or structural accountability. In some jurisdiction or entities, accountability even extends to individual behavior or conduct for the obvious reason that they affect or jeopardize the strict observance of a legal duty.

Experts say that public accountability has two dimensions: answerability (for power holders to explain or justify their actions) and enforceability (having reference to the system or mechanism of penalties and punishment when accountability is breached). Otherwise, accountability becomes useless.

In order to attain these dimensions, a policy of ‘transparency’ is vital. Transparency can be in the sense of voluntary or full disclosure of power-holders or securing the right of the constituency or the stakeholders of their right to information.

And since public accountability is ingrained as a social contract, it is very difficult for any illegitimate rule to be entrusted with this obligation. From the entire gamut of the public accountability framework rests public trust and credibility.

Without public trust and credibility, the capacity and fitness to govern is severely affected and becomes highly questionable, a case of breaching the social contract.

The Philippine Constitution no less devoted an entire article on public accountability of government functionaries the essence of which is expressed in this wise: “Public office is a public trust. Public officers and employees must at all times be accountable to people, serve them with utmost responsibility, integrity, loyalty, and efficiency, act with patriotism and justice, and lead modest lives.”

By simply looking at the frustrating developments in Philippine politics since this mandate was enshrined in the fundamental law, it seems to be more of a motherhood statement than an honest to goodness imprimatur. Who would disagree that every single duty referred to in the quoted provision from the context of structural, financial, structural and individual accountability is being violated with impunity?

Because the constitutional demand for public accountability is not self-executing, the country had good laws against corruption and on ethical standards. But they either become dead for lack of political will to enforce or simply become unjust because of unfair* application. Public office is a most sought career because it is the surest path to fame, power and wealth.  How they live their lives is ostentatious.

Transparency in the country’s public governance is a mere pigment of the imagination. The right of the people to public information is a tale.  Recent events calling for the invocation of the so-called ‘executive privilege’ even make the tale appalling.

Public accountability meant ‘being responsible’ in the normal scheme of things.  It meant ‘taking responsibility’ in the ideal sense.  But in the Philippines, it seems that public accountability is neither.

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NOTE: *the modifier from the original text was changed because for some unexplainable reason the original word used by the author cannot be recognized by the write-post board.

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LINK: ‘Note Verbale‘, Manila Times (Sunday-Career Section) – 10 June 2007 Issue

It is self-evident that nothing is permanent in this world except change. Ironically, some public concerns in Philippine society today remain either stagnant or perennial. Or perhaps, there were changes but for the worse.

Heavy traffic in the metropolis. Some would say that heavy traffic is actually a sign of progress. It could be true.  But if one closely analyses the bad traffic condition in major thoroughfares, there is actually only the lack of discipline on the part of drivers and pedestrians to blame. Traffic rules and regulations are certainly one of the most violated laws in this country. The strict imposition of traffic discipline would probably solve at least half of the problem.

Tax evasion. The most honest and faithful taxpayers in this country are the ordinary wage income earners.  It is simply because they do not have the flexibility or the schemes to avoid paying their taxes. Taxes are automatically withheld by their employers every time they receive their pay. Unfortunately, paying the right taxes is the least concern of those who could afford to pay and should pay more because they think they have all the legal ammunition to cover their violations. And government lacks the adequate resolve, resources and manpower to run after them. If caught, tax violators know that it is easier and practical to settle amicably and privately than to follow the rules.

Diminishing access to good education.  There is no argument that education is vital to national progress. But every school year, the country has the same concern of lack of classrooms, teachers, and books in public schools, where access to education is supposedly free. There is no telling, on the other hand, when tuition fee increases in private schools, would stop even momentarily. Thousands of private schools mushroomed all over the country over the years because it is one big business. Many parents entice their children in courses where they could easily land a job abroad after graduation. The focus of education in this country is simply employment and not entrepreneurship. Sometimes even the quest for knowledge becomes secondary. The net effect is tens of thousands of Filipino youth graduate every year from many diploma mills.
 
Rising costs of fuel and utilities. The promise of the oil deregulation law is lower prices of fuel. But as they say promises are made to be broken. Oil companies usually blame the high peso-dollar exchange rate for their upward price adjustments for their imported fuel products. And when fuel prices are high, the increased cost of utilities and prices of commodities usually follow. Now that the peso is performing very well against the dollar, prices of fuel continue to upsurge even more.  This sounds illogical, if not irrational.

Electoral fraud. When former President Ramon Del Fierro Magsaysay ran for the presidency in 1953 he knew fully well that the “birds and the gees” voted in Lanao province in Mindanao.  Fifty four years later, they still do but this time in many part of the country.

Lack of a good public health care system. One commercial ad described this issue aptly in the vernacular – “Getting sick is prohibited”. The cost of medicine and hospitalization is becoming more prohibitive and would make an ordinary Filipino want to just die instantly. Social security is weak, benefits are low, and many complain of red tape. Public clinics and hospitals are in a pitiful state. Thus, the drug market is now flooded with herbal medicines and vitamins. But even these supposed preventive and alternative medicines are getting costlier.
 
Graft and corruption. This is the same old problem that continues to hound every political administration since time immemorial to the point that a public discussion of the matter already sounds corny.  

There are other perennial problems confronting Juan and Maria de la Cruz like squatters, beggars in the street, unemployment, and human rights violations.

But who really cares?