EDITORIAL - Stamping out corruption

Last year Filipinos kicked out a president amid allegations of massive corruption. That deposed president remains detained without bail, on trial for plunder. Many thought the ouster of Joseph Estrada would be a watershed in the nation’s campaign against corruption. Estrada and his co-accused son Jinggoy, a former mayor of their hometown of San Juan, were supposed to be the biggest fish ever to be caught in the anti-graft net. Their prosecution, however, got off to a slow start and continues to sputter along, bogged down in the judicial mire. And booting out a president is proving to be easier than stamping out corruption in this country.

Bureaucratic red tape is still there, offering ample opportunities for graft. The findings of a team investigating anomalies at the Department of Public Works and Highways give you an idea of how institutionalized corruption has become in government offices. Apart from red tape and misuse of public funds, there are the kickbacks that have become a given in the award of almost every major government contract.

The lack of progress in dealing with official corruption has pulled down the Philippines in its ranking in the latest survey on corruption around the globe. The Corruption Perceptions Index of 2002, released this week by Berlin-based Transparency International, ranked the Philippines 77th among 102 countries where "perceived levels of corruption among politicians and public officials" are highest.

The index, based on surveys conducted among businessmen and country analysts, ranked Finland the cleanest in the world with a score of 9.7. Denmark and New Zealand tied for second place, followed by Iceland, then Singapore and Sweden, Canada, Luxembourg and the Netherlands, then the United Kingdom. With 10 being the best score, the Philippines got 2.6, tying with Pakistan, Romania and Zambia. In Southeast Asia, only Vietnam and Indonesia rated lower than the Philippines. It isn’t just coincidence that the nations perceived to be the cleanest are also among the most progressive.

Corruption is a worldwide phenomenon, and it has been around in this country for centuries. It won’t disappear within a year, or even by 2004. But much is expected of this administration that was born of a public desire to eliminate corruption. At the very least, this administration should be able to lay down the groundwork for minimizing opportunities for graft.