EDITORIAL - Slight improvement

The Philippines saw an improvement in its ranking in the latest Corruption Perception Index. From the previous year’s 105th place out of 176 countries, the Philippines now ranks 94th among 177 included in the annual CPI, which is based on a survey conducted by Transparency International.

With the improvement, the Philippines shared 94th place with Algeria, Armenia, Benin, Colombia, Djibouti, India and Suriname. The ranking is a long way from the No. 1 slot, shared by Denmark and New Zealand. It is no coincidence that the two cleanest countries are also consistently ranked among the most competitive economies, with their people among the “happiest” as defined by indicators on quality of life.

The Philippines has remained in the lower rungs of the CPI despite the focus of the daang matuwid administration on the anti-corruption campaign. This is because reforms at the top levels of government, like the benefits of the past years’ economic growth, have failed to trickle down to the lower rungs of the bureaucracy.

In local governments and national agencies alike, a mountain of red tape must be hurdled, with every step along the way offering opportunities for graft. Too many bureaucrats benefit personally from inefficient systems and processes, so any political will at the top to promote good governance is not reflected in the services delivered at the grassroots.

This problem is also evident in annual international surveys on ease of doing business, wherein the Philippines has consistently ranked low. Investors continue to complain about red tape especially in dealing with local governments, and especially if their activities compete with the business interests of local politicians.

In recent years multilateral institutions led by the World Bank Group have focused on corruption as one of the major hindrances to economic development and poverty alleviation. In this aspect the Aquino administration is on the right track, but its thrust is not being transmitted strongly enough to public servants. Corruption also remains an enormous problem in the two other branches of government. The latest corruption index highlights the need to do more in promoting transparency, accountability and good governance.