Claiming, for the umpteenth time, that the Arroyo administration has made significant gains in curbing corruption in the government, Malacañang yesterday dismissed as exaggerated the report of the London-based Transparency International (TI) ranking the Philippines 11th among the most corrupt countries in the world.
The corruption perceptions index for 2004 conducted by the TI showed corruption in 60 countries, including the Philippines, is rampant, which public sector is plagued by bribery.
No surprise there. And here are some of the reactions from our senators:
Pimentel, however, expressed belief that the survey is a challenge to the government to clean its ranks.
He urged Mrs. Arroyo to “stop her kid glove treatment of administration officials facing graft charges to erase the public impression that she does not have the political will to wage a no-nonsense campaign against bureaucratic corruption.”
For his part, administration Sen. Ramon Magsaysay said the TI report is a “national shame” and should compel Filipinos to bring back their values such as trustworthiness and truthfulness.
“It seems that we keep on sliding. That means that there is no perceived strong issue to get back to reforming the whole society, the whole system,” Magsaysay pointed out.
Sen. Sergio Osmeña III, a member of the minority bloc, said it would only be a matter of time before the country finds itself occupying the top slot.
“Maybe in two years' time, we're already No. 1. There is a list where we are number one,” Osmeña, in a separate interview, said.
“This has been going on for a long time and there has been no serious effort to improve our status. In the eyes of the world, I think it is downright embarrassing, even disgusting, to be known as the 11th most corrupt country in the world.
“We are 95 percent Christians, I think it is a reflection of the values that we have as a people that we keep on allowing corrupt officials to get away with it. I don't see any seriousness or political will on the part of the administration,” he said.
According to the global graft watchdog, corruption is crippling the battle against poverty and robbing oil-rich countries of their development potential.
Haiti and Bangladesh were perceived as the world's most corrupt nations in the survey of 146 countries by the TI, closely followed by Nigeria, Myanmar and Chad.
The Philippines has been holding on to its rank for the last two years along with five other countries - Eritrea, Papua New Guinea, Uganda, Vietnam and Zambia - sharing the 11th position.
I don't see any improvements in the future under this administration.
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