People power against corruption

Today, we celebrate the day when, 28 years ago, former President Ferdinand Marcos and his wife, Imelda, fled the country to seek political asylum in the US and to escape from an outraged nation crying for the end of more than two decades of a regime that plundered the country’s wealth.

Today, more than half of the country’s citizens do not have any recollection of this historic day, having been born too young (or not having been born yet) to understand the implications of the historical events that unfolded starting with the Marcoses’ rise almost half a century ago.

While our youth may not fully comprehend the fervor of those long years, of having to endure the restrictions of the Martial Law years, of dollar salting and the extravagance of the country’s First Lady, of unbridled stealing, and the brazen cheating during Marcos’ last elections, it is enough that they understand that corruption is a foe that can be beaten.

That a person like Marcos had thought himself clever, taken the law into his own hands, and forcibly brought his will on the nation’s citizenry can never in the end win against justice – for evil doing will always have its day in court.

Today, we don’t have a dictator like Marcos in our midst, but we still have those notorious vestiges of power that runs against public good. Corruption remains pervasive, and its tentacles imbedded much deeper in the ranks of society, including government.

As discussed in previous columns, corruption takes at least two people to accomplish. There can never be someone corrupt if there is no one initiating a corrupt deal. And the best example of corruption these days in the country has to do with smuggling.

On the rise again

Technical smuggling, or the falsified declaration of goods being imported into the country, is on the rise again. And at a time when the government needs every centavo it can collect, we are seeing instead the pockets of corrupt government officials as well as unscrupulous individuals who masquerade as businessmen being fattened.

In my readings while preparing for this column, I came across an old report circa 2001 about the fight of three countries (Pakistan, Bolivia, and the Philippines) against the various forms of fraudulent corruption at their respective customs offices.

Fraudulent corruption, according to the report published by the OECD Development Center, is when a “trader or agent seeks “blind eye” or active, collusive customs treatment in order to reduce fiscal obligations or enlarge external earnings.”

This kind of corruption is by far the biggest reason why technical smuggling continues to thrive, and is even flourishing at this point in time, despite so many interventions entailing in-depth studies and researches, training funds, as well as installation of software and hardware facilities for better transparency operations.

Introducing reforms

In the OECD report, the Philippines was then seen as moderately successful in its fight against corruption compared to the two other countries in the study. It mentions to a large extent the role played by President Fidel V. Ramos who assumed office in 1992 and was the godfather of the customs reform effort.

Aptly titled “Customs Development Towards the Year 2000,” the five-year reform program utilized a number of tools and a cast of thousands committed to increase the efficiency of tax collections by weeding out corruption in the ranks of government and the private sector.

The over-arching philosophy for the whole reform re-engineering effort hinged on three assumptions.

First, it recognized that there were abundant opportunities whereby corruption could happen. Thus, one of the major objectives of the reform initiative was to lessen the interaction between customs officers and private operators.

Second, that there was a need to provide an efficient operational process within the customs department free of routine corruption.” The thinking here was that corruption would be greatly diminished if honest businesses that paid correct taxes would be able to transact their customs work in a transparent corrupt-free manner.

Thirdly, it was acknowledged the need for a firm hand, especially when dealing with corrupt officers. This meant that sanctions had to be dispensed when needed to discipline a bureaucratic organization that had slept with corruption for most of its life.

Key players

The report attributed the moderate success of the reform process to three sectors: top government leadership, media and business.

President Ramos had organized a credible and committed team that introduced and implemented the reforms. Every year, the President without fail would make a speech before the customs personnel to remind them of the need to fight corruption.

Members of the media, on the other hand, showed support by publishing stories about efforts made by and deeds of honest customs officials as well as other personalities, organizations and institutions involved in fighting corruption.

And the third sector, business, proved to be the strongest stakeholder in instituting customs reform. Members of the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI), composed of exporters and export-oriented manufacturers, and the Federation of Philippine Industries (FPI), of course, carried the greatest risks from increased costs from “facilitation” charges.

The old report cited the “moderate success” achieved by the Philippines under the leadership of then President Ramos. One wonders what happened since then, why the “moderate success” was not sustained.

Learning from history

The best lesson that we have learned from People Power of 1986 is that people can move mountains to effect change. But we should also remember that we have to be vigilant to prevent abuses from recurring or new ones from forming.

Today, let us remind ourselves that getting rid of corruption is a duty that each and every Filipino must never forget. This fight may not be captured as dramatically as the pictures of throngs of masses on EDSA 28 years ago, but it is nevertheless one that will bring important change for our nation and its future citizens.

Let’s not forget. And more importantly, let’s do our share.

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Should you wish to share any insights, write me at Link Edge, 25th Floor, 139 Corporate Center, Valero Street, Salcedo Village, 1227 Makati City. Or e-mail me at [email protected]. For a compilation of previous articles, visit www.BizlinksPhilippines.net.