Are we really that corrupt?

The recent survey by the Hong Kong-based Political and Economic Risk Consultancy (PERC) comes at a most inopportune time, just when the economy is starting to pick up and there is renewed interest in the Philippines as an investment destination. Even GMA’s approval rating is supposed to be getting better, but now comes PERC, compounded by a US Congressional panel demanding more government action on the issue of extra-judicial killings — all these once again giving a negative perception of what is going on in this country.

But corruption has been around us for centuries. It was already in existence during the time of the Spaniards, when a Filipino who could not produce a cedula would give money to a Guardia Civil to escape punishment — an early precursor of "kotong" as we know it today. Even the Spanish friars were guilty of it, selling indulgences that supposedly exempted people from punishment for their sins. It was corruption any way you look at it, encouraging people to believe they could buy their way to heaven.

In Asia, corruption is a given. It existed in China during several dynasties like the Han Dynasty where people who wanted to serve in government, but could not pass the civil service exams, would give gifts and bribes to secure a position. Even today, the problem of corruption is still prevalent in China, which the government tries to address through a number of means like publicizing a "disgraced list" of officials found guilty of corruption. In Malaysia, corruption was reportedly institutionalized during the time of Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, where a 10 percent margin for corruption was allowed. Anything above that would mean serious consequences both for the corruptor and the "corruptee."

In this country, however, corruption has become so prevalent, perhaps because Filipinos prefer the easy way out. We are afflicted with a "quick fix" mentality, a malady we have had for ages. It affects the lowliest clerk to the highest level of management. A year ago, I wanted to find out if it was true that you could renew an expired driver’s license in less than an hour. So I went through the whole rigmarole of going through a urine drug test and had my photo taken. Well, I found out the hard way that it wasn’t true. I was approaching my third hour of waiting when I realized it simply wasn’t gonna work. I desperately looked for a fixer, but it was too late. Exasperated, I left, and ended up with no license. Today, I just have an international driver’s license which I renew every year. A firsthand example of how one wants to try if the system works, and ends up getting sucked into the corruption system.

This bureaucratic red tape is making people become susceptible to corruption. Businessmen have every reason to feel frustrated since it takes too long to accomplish anything in this country. If you want to start a business, you have to go through 11 procedures and wait for 48 days. To secure a permit, you have to comply with requirements that take 23 steps and 197 days to complete, and God knows how many signatories who each take their own sweet time scrawling their name on documents. Most government employees also get very low pay, so they look for ways to earn extra cash on the side. If we can cut down red tape by 50 percent, corruption would most likely be cut down by as much as 50 percent. But even with the creation of the Anti-Red Tape Task Force, some rules and procedures are still too tedious and complicated that in the end, people simply cave in to the lure of fixers.

If we want to minimize corruption, then perhaps it’s about time the entire bureaucratic system is overhauled. Just take a look at the national level. It would take as much as P5 billion to run for president of this country, while it will cost as much as P100 million to run for senator and conduct a decent campaign. Now tell me, where would these candidates get this kind of money? Obviously from donations and contributions, which means they have to owe favors. Another reason why we have to change the present system which is conducive to corruption. Nonetheless, corruption is an international problem. In the United States, they have a Federal Law that requires candidates to report contributions, and government matches whatever they raise. Corruption is minimized though this system — but it can only work in a rich country like the United States. Another wealthy country is Singapore which has been able to curb corruption almost to zero because it corrected all the loopholes in the system. And the main thing is, its government workers are paid well.

That’s why when Filipinos go abroad and move to highly developed countries for the first time, they receive a culture shock when they discover that the things that are so commonplace in the Philippines like the "pakiusap," the "palusot" and the "lagay" no longer work. Maybe this PERC survey is simply telling us that it’s about time we did something to change the present system. Do we really want to be known as the most corrupt nation in Asia? Something’s got to give. People can insist that it should start from the top, but it must also start from the bottom as well. The bottom line is that we have to seriously think about changing a system that continues to encourage corruption, rather than discourage it.

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