World Bank: Corruption is 'enemy no. 1' in Philippines

MANILA, Philippines - The World Bank declared war against corruption, calling it "public enemy number one" in developing countries which include the Philippines.

On Thursday (Washington time), World Bank Group president Jim Yong Kim said that the financial institution has called on the private sector and officials in the developing world to step up their game against the lack of integrity in governance and businesses.

"In the developing world, corruption is public enemy number one ... We will never tolerate corruption, and I pledge to do all in our power to build upon our strong fight against it," Kim said.

"Every dollar that a corrupt official or a corrupt business person puts in their pocket is a dollar stolen from a pregnant woman who needs health care; or from a girl or a boy who deserves an education," the World Bank executive added.

Kim invited Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima at a forum in the American capital hosted by the Integrity Vice President, the World Bank's anti-corruption investigative arm.

Purisima, who joined World Bank President James Wolfensohn and US Federal Reserve chairman Paul Volcker in the panel, called corruption the country's "cancer."

"Filipinos are actively taking part in helping the Philippines government fight corruption," Purisima said.

The Philippine government and the public sector garnered a lowly score of 36 in Transparency International's corruption perceptions index this year. The scale ranged from 0 to 100 or from highly corrupt to very clean.

Kim said the elimination of corruption is vital in eliminating world poverty by 2030 and boost shared prosperity.

He also encouraged the establishment of institutions with greater integrity joined by the empowerment of citizens with tools and measurements to urge government to become more accountable.

"We need to build a global movement to prevail over corruption," Kim said.