77% of Pinoys say drive vs corruption ineffective

MANILA, Philippines – Seventy-seven percent of Filipinos believe that the Philippine government’s efforts to fight corruption are ineffective, according to a global public opinion report.

Transparency International’s 2009 Global Corruption Barometer survey showed that only 21 percent believe that the government’s actions against graft are effective, while only two percent say “neither.”

The organization said the 2009 Global Corruption Barometer is a public opinion survey with more than 73,000 respondents drawn from 69 countries and territories around the world.

In the Asia Pacific region, the Philippines ranked second worst in terms of how effectively Filipinos believe their government is fighting corruption.

The worst was South Korea with 81 percent of its survey respondents saying that the government has been ineffective in battling graft, only 16 percent saying otherwise, and three percent saying “neither.”

Following the Philippines in the list of worst to best is Japan, with 68 percent saying their government’s actions against corruption are ineffective; Malaysia, 67 percent; Thailand, 65 percent; Pakistan, 51 percent; India, 45 percent; Cambodia, 28 percent; Indonesia, 19 percent; Brunei Darussalam, 17 percent; Hong Kong, 12 percent; and Singapore with only four percent.

On a global scale, the survey showed 56 percent do not think their governments are effectively fighting corruption, while 31 percent think otherwise and only 14 say neither.

The report said based on overall survey results, “government efforts to tackle corruption are largely seen as ineffective by the general public.”

“While comparing the overall barometer responses to this question in 2007 and 2009, it is noteworthy that there have not been any considerable changes in perception. At the country level, however, there is more variation,” it noted.

“The perception of government effectiveness in relation to addressing corruption appears to have increased in Armenia, Cambodia, Colombia, Denmark, Finland Georgia, India, Indonesia, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, and Norway,” the report said.

“While the perception of government effectiveness appears to have decreased in Bosnia, Herzegovina, Greece, Malaysia, Panama, the Philippines, Senegal, Spain, Thailand, Turkey, and Venezuela,” it said.

Transparency International said the 2009 Global Corruption survey was conducted from October to December 2008 while the Asia Research Organization did the survey in the Philippines from Nov. 3 to 23, 2008, covering 1,000 respondents.

Aside from people’s perception on how their governments are fighting graft, the survey also looked into the issue of the general perceptions of corruption in key sectors.

Asked which of the six given sectors they perceive to be most corrupt, 29 percent of respondents from 69 countries said political parties, while 26 percent pointed to public officials and civil servants.

Some 16 percent said the parliament or the legislature is the most corrupt, 14 percent said the private or business sector, nine percent said the judiciary, and six percent, the media.

The survey also tackled other corruption issues like petty bribery in the police, judiciary, and basic services by government departments and localities.

Inaccurate

The Office of the Ombudsman (OMB) said the Transparency International’s supposed survey results ran contrary to the Political and Economic Risk Consultancy’s (PERC) 2009 corruption report.

Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez said the country’s rating (0 to 10 as worst) improved from 9 in 2008 to 7 in 2009 according to PERC.

PERC said a 4 to 7 rating indicates a moderate level of corruption, while a grade greater than 7 means a “serious” corruption problem exists.

Assistant Ombudsman Jose de Jesus agreed that Transparency International’s survey is inaccurate.

“The efforts of the government of the Philippines, particularly the work being done by the OMB, are taking effect in fighting corruption,” he told The STAR.

De Jesus said the OMB considers the PERC survey to be more accurate and up-to-date since its survey was more recent than that of Transparency International.