WB: RP gov't must address corruption

He arrived with a $100-million aid package for the Philippines. But the package came with a call for greater transparency and public accountability.

World Bank president James Wolfensohn said yesterday that for the Philippines to sustain economic development, the government must address corruption.

In a speech during a multisectoral conference called "Partnership for Governance and Development," Wolfensohn noted that in all the countries he has worked with, it has been shown that "if a society is corrupt, it is useless."

"I would urge you to think about transparency and accountability in doing things," Wolfensohn said.

Responding to the admonition, President Estrada ordered government agencies to be guided by the four principles of "fairness, accuracy, speed and transparency, or FAST."

The President, who was seen scribbling changes in his prepared speech as Wolfensohn spoke, said there was much work to do in correcting ruinous policies of the past.

Wolfensohn emphasized that he was not suggesting the Philippine government adopt a specific program to curb graft and corruption. But he said strengthening governance is necessary to achieve a framework of efficient government services.

"Decentralization is an important component of improving governance," he said. "Strengthening governance leads to a government that could create a framework with good and honest people."

Wolfensohn pointed out that good governance also entails a clean, honest and efficient judicial system that would protect people's rights and property.

Matters of financial supervision should be properly addressed not just by the banking sector but by the corporate sector, he added.

The toughest part is going beyond talk and implementing reforms, he said.

"The difficult part is actually doing it. If we keep discussions open without making decisions or taking action, then all of these will also be useless," he said.

Wolfensohn said regular accounting can also promote transparency in government.

He noted that with an effective structure to fight corruption, the government can concentrate on other matters such as infrastructure and delivery of social services.

"It is also crucial for the government to look at education and health," he said.

Wolfensohn lauded the Estrada administration for its efforts to promote tripartite discussions with the private and civic sectors.

"Your country is a mirror of increasing development, increasing role of the private sector, and increasing participation of non-government organizations," he told conference participants. "You should be weaving a chain of trust for the chain of hope, and if you do that it will be the best recognition of the EDSA spirit which you just celebrated."

Finance Secretary Jose Pardo, who joined the President at the conference held at the Shangri-La Hotel in Makati City, said the WB has granted the Philippines a $100-million loan to bankroll socio-economic programs.

Pardo signed the agreement with WB country director Vijay Bhargava Friday night. The President and Wolfensohn witnessed the signing ceremony that preceded a dinner in honor of the visiting WB officials.

The finance chief said the loan will be used to finance the government's Social Expenditure Management Program.

"The fund would be used to improve the respective procurement, financial management and information communication systems of the Department of Social Welfare and Development and the Department of Education, Culture and Sports," he said.

Apart from the social expenditure loan, the WB also gave the government a grant of $980,000 for the training of underemployed and unemployed youths.

Pardo said Wolfensohn was satisfied with the government's thrust on poverty eradication.

"He was impressed with our decisiveness in addressing the problems of the marginalized poor," the finance chief said.

At the end of the two-day conference, 11 agencies under the Partnership for Governance and Development presented to Mr. Estrada a detailed report on their output.

In his speech, the President said he shared Wolfenshon's commitment to poverty alleviation.

The President likened his "Angat Pinoy 2004" development plan to Wolfensohn's Comprehensive Development Framework policy for the WB.

"Mr. Wolfensohn revamped the philosophy of the World Bank so as to seek the ultimate meaning and justification of any program not in its mere financial and technical feasibility, not in its mere rate of return but in the extent and depth by which it helps the poor," Mr. Estrada said.

"I hope I am not being presumptuous if I say that Mr. Wolfensohn gave to multilateral financing what my administration is giving to national governance -- a sensitivity not just to material things but to human values. Poverty is not just measured by the lack of material things. It is measured by the deprivation of human dignity," the President said. - With Marichu Villanueva