A FRAMEWORK ON STUDYING CORRUPTION, 15 Areas of Attention or Why Corruption Persists

1. Corruption may be defined as the use of public resource and public power for personal ends, with bribery as its common form.

2. While the tendency in our country is to limit its meaning to wrongdoing by government officials, or official corruption, private individuals may be, and are often involved as partners, co-conspirators, and beneficiaries in the use of public resources and abuse of power or government position for personal ends. Many bureaucrats in government are themselves involved in large-scale corruption in connivance with business patrons and/or partners.

3. The Philippines ranks 4th most corrupt country in Asia according to Hongkong's Political and Economic Risk Consultancy (PERC) and in Transparency International's Global Corruption Barometer on 2007our country now ranks 10th from rank 36th among 102 countries from their 2005 corruption index, validating perceptions that government corruption is widespread. It also reveals that corruption occurs massively among the poorest countries of the world like the Philippines, but is considerably less in the industrialized world.

4. Poor countries share characteristics other than poverty:
* Many are former colonies whose development has been arrested as a result, and whose societies have remained essentially backward, feudal and agrarian both economically and politically.

* Aside from the long experience in colonial and semi-colonial rule, there is the dominance o elite politics.

* The apparent failure of government institutions to respond fairly and justly to the people's problem.

* Limited democratic practices provide fertile ground for corruption to flourish and

* The inability and unwillingness on the part of the political elite to address the underlying roots of corruption and to bring accountable bureaucracy to the people help corruption to take firm root.

5. Corruption is endemic, chronic, and pervasive in these countries where internal -- political, economic, social, cultural and behavioral -- actors combine in contributing to corruption and ethical bankruptcy in government.

6. Industrialized countries that still have corruption as a major problem have governments that are generally characterized by backward, feudal and personalistic relations, and most of all invariably controlled or influenced by vested interest groups rather than public service.

7. In poor and backward countries like the Philippines, corruption is a consequence of the feudal relations that have persisted for centuries, in which kinship and other ties play a leading role in officials' bending or breaking the rules, and in colluding with private profit-hungry individuals.

8. Familial and other relations are an important factor in fostering corruption where family members and "compadres" are often officials' partners and beneficiaries. When patronage and nepotism exist, corruption thrives easily.

9. The dominantly feudal, familial, and personalistic relations undermine state institutions, and constitute the basic weakness of Philippine governance.

10. In particular, Philippine bureaucracy is ridden with corruption where every transaction to clinch a

• FRANCHISE
• CONTRACT
  
• LICENSE
• PERMIT
• CONCESSION

Is most often seen as a source of personal profit.

11. Sources of corruption are everywhere in Philippine bureaucracy:

• Court Decisions
• Traffic Violations
• Procurement of Supplies
• Government Subsidies
• Medical and Health Care
• Trust Funds
• Subscription to private companies
• Government Loans
• Departmental, Executive and Legislative budget
• Logging and Mining Concessions
• Calamity Funds, among others.

12. Officials from top down to the lower levels who amass wealth from or use their positions of authority to influence laws, decisions or projects, resort to all kinds of tricks to manipulate financial transactions; many even involve themselves in criminal syndicates with the help of crooked cops or military and engage in other anti-social activities. These are the bureaucrat capitalists, bureaucrats in government who engage in business for themselves at the expense of dedicated public service.

13. The effects of corruption are:

• Aggravates the problem of poverty which results from policies that favor the local elite and their patrons who control and hold access to government resources and use these for their personal benefit. This situation exacerbates the already vast disparities between rich and poor, and consequently, in more concentration of power among the former.
• Abuse of power lead to serious wastage of 20-40% of total resources set apart for development.
• Data covering Asia, Africa, Latin America show that corruption has a deleterious, often devastating effect on administrative performance and economic and political development corroding people's trust, favoring the privileged and powerful elite.

This abusive and concentration of power has led to wider corruption as the greedy powerful holders appropriate an even greater share of both the limited wealth of the country and government resources to themselves and their families / friends.

14. There are many varied ways to measure corrupt practices, among these are:

• Lifestyle check against actual income
• Lifestyle check on immediate relatives, friends and personal "foundations" or "charity causes" who / which maybe channels of personal businesses using public resources
• Statements of assets and liabilities.

But these are not pursued relentlessly and in most cases, only selectively.

15. As long as this state of affairs remains where governance is controlled only by few wealthy political elite in government who treat government as one big business from where to draw personal profits, and as public service only for political expediency, corruption will always be a serious problem of government, whatever is its form of government.

Prepared by:
Center for People Empowerment in Governance (CenPEG)
Policy Study, Publication and Advocacy (PSPA)

Announcement for my UMAK NSTP Class

On March 1, 2008 we will be following our regular class schedule. For Community Service program section 31 7am-10am, Rover Scouting Program section 13 10am - 1pm and Rover Scouting Program section 16 1pm - 4pm.

Thank you.

Matagumpay na press con ng UP Faculty Demand Neri Resign

Press Release
February 13, 2008

Neri Resign!

Romulo Neri does not deserve to be identified with UP

 

Statement prepared for the press conference on February 14 (Thursday), 10 a.m., Vinzons Hall, UP Diliman, Quezon City

 

We, the concerned faculty members of the University of the Philippines (UP), are demanding the immediate resignation of Romulo Neri as chair of the Commission on Higher Education (CHED).

 

It is an embarrassment for us that, as chair of CHED, he also sits as chair of the UP Board of Regents. He does not deserve to be identified with higher education institutions like UP. The celebration of the centennial of the UP carries the slogan "UP, Ang Galing Mo!" All we can say to Neri at this point is "Neri, Ang Gulang Mo!"

 

What lessons, after all, can students and educators get from a CHED chairperson who prefers to "moderate the greed" of those involved in the controversial national broadband network (NBN) project? His decision to be part of the cover-up of the controversial national broadband network (NBN) project does not teach the right values to students. He even had the gall to flaunt his success at "hiding out" to evade the Senate arrest warrant by securing a temporary restraining order (TRO) from the Supreme Court.

 

According to a petition we are circulating at UP, "He has lost all moral high ground required of a person entrusted with reviving the country's decaying higher education system."

 

As of February 13 – or only two days after we finalized it – several UP faculty members from the Diliman, Manila, Los Baños, Baguio, Visayas and Mindanao campuses have already signed the online version of the petition located at URL http://www.petitiononline.com/gmabye2/petition.html. Among the signatories are National Artist Bienvenido Lumbera and former UP President Francisco Nemenzo, both professor emeriti. More are expected to sign in the following days.

 

In the days and months to come, we can expect the groundswell of support for a worthy initiative like this, not only from the faculty but also from the entire UP community.

 

That we are launching it on the occasion of Valentine's Day shows that, in our call for Neri's resignation as chair of CHED, we are professing our love not only for our country, but also for the truth.

 

For details, please contact Prof. Danilo Arao (UP Department of Journalism) at (0917) 833-ARAO.

---

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Love You Nanay Bear at Baby Bear.

Tatay Bear.

Detained peasant leader shares tips to Lozada to withstand gov’t persecution

News Release
Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas
February 14, 2008

The illegally detained deputy secretary general for external affairs of the Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP) Randall "Ka Randy" Echanis, shared some tips to National Broadband Network (NBN) deal star witness Rodolfo "Jun" Lozada on how to withstand the pressure and persecution being done against him by the Macapagal-Arroyo regime.

"The number one rule to withstand this type of persecution is always being true and to speak the truth. You should also stick to your principles. I have been in jail three times now and have undergone physical and mental torture by government agents but they were not able to break me, because all that I fought for was for the truth and genuine welfare of the peasantry. In the end all their attacks will come to naught and you will stand triumphant," said Echanis.

"Second, rely on the Filipino people, they are always watching and supports those who they know are truly working for their benefit. They are also searching for the truth that will drive them to action against this oppressive regime," said the peasant leader.

"Third, the struggle for genuine change involved many steps. Knowing and telling the truth are just the first steps, the next one is action. If we are truly for the Filipino people, then we must put our knowledge into action. We must join the whole nation in street protests to demand the ouster of the Macapagal-Arroyo regime and genuine change. We may know the truth but this will be wasted if we do not act," added Echanis.

"If Jun Lozada can do all these he will not only withstand the persecution of Malacanang, because he has the peoples' support, he will also be recognized as a full-fledged patriot of the country," ended Echanis. # # #

CenPEG Issue Analysis 03 DeVenecia Lozada NBN 8 February 2008

ISSUE ANALYSIS No. 3

February 8, 2008
Series of 2008

Governance by arrogance

Next to the Marcos dictatorship, the Arroyo presidency will likely go down in history as the government most vilified apparently due to its use of coercion and intimidation to silence its critics and its presumed enemies.

Its eighth year in power began in January with a threat against reporters that they will be haled to jail if they covered so-called "destabilizers" and also a bigger threat on cause-oriented organizations against holding rallies to commemorate Edsa Dos.

On Feb. 4, Jose de Venecia, Jr., a staunch Arroyo ally, was unceremoniously unseated as House speaker in a coup plotted by the president's husband, Jose Miguel Arroyo, her two congressmen-sons, and a business crony. De Venecia's ouster – where government funds were reportedly used to marshal the yes votes - was described as a family vendetta over De Venecia's refusal to stop his son, Joey III, from testifying in the Senate about the $330-million telecommunications project scam.

The son's testimony on the tainted project implicated the president's husband, former Comelec chairman Benjamin Abalos, and some generals in the Arroyo Cabinet. In a privilege speech on the night of the coup, De Venecia lambasted the chief executive for failing to stop assassination attempts by her own men against himself and his son.

De Venecia, 71, who had served as Speaker for five terms beginning 1992 in the 9th Congress, was instrumental in throwing out three impeachment complaints filed against Arroyo in connection with the fraudulent 2004 presidential elections and other constitutional violations. Like a true praetorian guard, he thus saved the president – who was once his vice-presidential mate in 1998 - from certain imprisonment. Now stripped of power and betrayed by Arroyo along with 56 members of his own Lakas-CMD, which he leads as party president, the ousted Speaker has promised to tell all of what he knows about the president and hinted he may likely join the opposition.

Lozada

Then on Feb. 5, Rodolfo Noel Lozada, Jr., a key witness in the controversial national broadband network (NBN) telecommunications deal, went missing after arriving at the international airport from Hong Kong. Quick intercession by his family, senators, and religious groups coupled with media vigilance probably saved his life. In an early dawn news conference Feb. 7, the young Lozada anguished over death threats he said he received from Abalos for refusing to endorse the shady deal on account of the former Comelec chief's demand for a $130 million commission. He withdrew from the project deliberations as a consultant and has also resigned as president of the state-owned Philippine Forest Corporation. Lozada, who had a brother killed by the police for "mistaken identity," said he was just a professional doing his job and wanted no part in the scam. The deal has since been scrapped by Arroyo.

Arroyo's claims of giving the country an unprecedented economic growth have failed to lower the president's rating as the most corrupt in decades, with a culture of cronyism that equals the Marcos years, and a record of extra-judicial killings that has raised alarm in the international community.

Continuing to hound Arroyo are allegations of illegitimacy as a result of which it suffers a lack of trust and credibility among the people. In response to impeachment complaints and incessant calls for her resignation, the president, in an arrogant display of power, has resorted to gangland-style coercion, authoritarian measures, and military repression including threats of arrest and, as condemned by human rights groups, the summary execution and abduction of her most effective critics from the Left.

Under Arroyo, rule of law and due process are followed in the breach. Complaints against the president in the House are shot down through a tyranny of numbers and bribery while in the Senate investigations of the wrongdoings of the president, her family, and cronies are stymied by executive orders preventing Cabinet officials and generals from cooperating. Ever protective of their commander-in-chief, military authorities defy judicial authority on cases of missing persons, despite a long-delayed legal intervention by the Supreme Court.

Arroyo has thus tainted the office of the presidency and the electoral process, violated the independence of Congress, deepened the people's lack of trust in the justice system, and made the AFP her own private army.

Patronage

Patronage, maintained through the control and disbursement of pork barrel, preferential treatment in multi-million projects, as well as high salaries, promotions, and other perks has also helped ensure Arroyo's stay in power. Bribery knows no bounds so that even key members of the Catholic hierarchy have been effectively "neutralized" from criticizing the president.

The last time the people saw the scourge of conjugal dictatorship was during the Marcos years. Today the Arroyo family is not only the fastest-growing ruling dynasty in the country but it is also embroiled in monumental cases of corruption and abuse of political power. The last of such cases is of course the NBN scam where the fixation to defend dynastic interests comes first even at the expense of long-time allies and presidential appointees, like Lozada.

The unseating of De Venecia and the abduction of Lozada has stirred calls anew for the president to quit – or at least to take a leave of absence - to give investigators of alleged presidential wrongdoings a free hand. For such a clamor to prosper, the people may have to transcend the reign of fear that has been sown under seven years of the Arroyo presidency and save the country from further harm.

(BACK TO TOP)

Reference:

Bobby Tuazon
Director, Policy Study, Publication and Advocacy (PSPA)
Center for People Empowerment in Governance (CenPEG)
TelFax +63-2 9299526; mobile phone: 0915-6418055
E-mail: cenpeg.info@gmail.com; info@cenpeg.org
http://www.cenpeg.org

Isang Kaabang-abang na susunod na kabanata

Mula ng pumutok ang balitang may mga Pro-administration Congressmen na naghahangad na mapatalsik si Speaker Joe De Venecia sa Mabanag Kapulungan, mabilis na kumalat ang balita. Mula sa mga dyaryo, telebisyon, radyo, hanggang sa text, internet, mga chat rooms. Hindi na bago ang ganito, marami naman talagang nagtatangka na makopo ang inaasam-asam na Speakership ng House of Representatives. Mahigit anim na buwan na ang nakakaraan July 2007 ng tangkaing maalis sa liderato ng Kongreso si JDV. Siyempre hindi ito nangyari, dahil nasa kanya ang bilang, sabi nga nila sa kongreso "It's a numbers game", basta nasa iyo ang bilang ng maraming kinatawan sa kongreso panalo ka. Ganito palagi, noong impeachment kay GMA palaging nababasura dahil marami sa mga kongresista ang kaalyado ng administrasyon, at ayaw na matuloy ang impeachment laban sa pangulo. Nagkakaisa ang mga pro-administration congressmen and women laban sa mga kritiko ni GMA. Ayaw nilang malaman ang katotohanan, ayaw nilang ipaalam sa mga mamamayan ang tunay na naganap sa mga alegasyon ng dayaan noong 2004 at 2007 elections, ang nangyari sa fertilizer funds, mga maanomalyang transaksyon na pinapasok ng pamahalaan, ang ZTE NBN Deal, Diosdado Macapagal Boulevard, Cyber Education Project, alegasyon ng korupsyon, mga pagpatay sa mga kritiko ng administrasyon at mga aktibista. Basta mga alegasyun at akusasyon laban kay GMA, solidong solido talaga sila, handa nilang ipaglaban si GMA. Isa para sa lahat, lahat para sa isa, pwede din namang lahat para kay GMA. Lahat para pagtakpan si GMA. Numbers game nga e. Si JDV siyempre solidong kasama nila, solidong GMA.

Pero nitong mga nakaraang linggo, maingay talaga ang balitang patatalsikin si JDV ng mga pro-administrasyong kongresista. Lumitaw ang pangalan ni Rep. Prospero Nograles, Magkapatid na Rep. Juan Miguel "Mikey" Arroyo at Rep. Diosdado "Dato" Arroyo na mga namumuno sa hakbangin na ito. Na mariin namang pinabulaan ni Rep. Nograles, samantalang ang magkapatid na Arroyo patuloy ang pagdadaos ng mga pagpupulong kasama ang ilang mga kongresista. Ito ay sa kabila ng pagpapakita ng suporta ni GMA kay JDV kahit noong nasa Davos Switzerland pa siya at dumadalo sa World Economic Forum.

Hanggang sa tuluyan na ngang sumambulat sa mga mamamayan ang bitak sa sinasabing solidong Coalition ng LAKAS at KAMPI. Nasaksihan ng lahat kung paano magkaisa ang mga pro-administration na mga kongresista hindi laban sa mga kritiko ng administrasyon, hindi laban sa minorya at oposisyon, kundi laban sa kanilang kasamahan sa administrasyon, laban kay JDV. Ayaw ng mga elitistang kongresista na nagnanais na higit pang mapalakas ang kapangyarihan ng Malakanyang sa loob ng kongreso. Kalokohan ang sinasabing reporma o pagbabago na nais nilang gawin kaya pinatatalsik si JDV, magkakapareho lang sila ng agenda, siyempre iwan na naman sa ere ang mga mamamayan. Sila sila lang ang makikinabang sa kanilang ginagawa, maraming mga mahahalagang panukalang batas na kailangang pagtuunan nila ng pansin, ang 125 across the board wage increase, ang Genuine Agrarian Reform Bill, maraming mga dapat na pinagtutuunan, dapat na imbestigahan, tumitinding paglabag sa karapatang pantao, pamamaslang sa mga aktibista at media, militarisasyon sa kanayunan. Maraming mamamayan ang naghihirap, sa kabila ng pinagmamalaking pag-unlad ng ating ekonomiya. Ito sana nag kanilang inaatupag at hindi ang kapritso ng Malakanyang at ng mga anak ng pangulo para sa pagpapatalsik kay JDV, awayan nila sa pulitika na idinadamay ang mamamayan.

Kung totoong nais ng bagong liderato ng kongreso ng pagbabago, umpisan nila na tumugon sa hinain at panawagan ng mga mamamayan. Umpisahan nilang linisin ang madungis na pangalan ng kongreso, umpisahan nilang imbestigahan ang mga alegasyon kay GMA. Yan ang ating aabangan na susunod na mga kabanata.