EDITORIAL - Falling 10 notches

After five years of seeing improvements in the Philippines’ ranking in the Corruption Perceptions Index, the country has dropped 10 notches in the latest one. The Philippines placed 95th out of 167 countries in the annual study prepared by Transparency International, ranking behind the four other founding members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and Northeast Asian economies.

Malacañang, which had welcomed the annual Transparency reports in previous years, said perception was different from reality. In fact when it comes to corruption, perception – as recorded by independent groups – is often the best gauge of whether a country is dealing effectively with the problem.

Palace officials should not consider the drop in ranking as an indictment of President Aquino himself or his avowed commitment to the straight path, but rather as an assessment of the general state of governance around the country.

The Aquino administration has had its share of corruption scandals, although not in the same degree as its two predecessors. And like economic growth, the anti-corruption campaign has been slow in trickling down to the lowest levels of the bureaucracy. Red tape, which encourages corruption, plagues both national and local government offices, driving away investments and contributing to perceptions of worsening corruption.

What nations do with the problem is a key factor in Transparency’s annual report card. In the previous year’s Corruption Perceptions Index, the Philippines ranked ahead of China and Indonesia and tied with India, Sri Lanka and Thailand at 85th place. This time, all five countries have pulled away from the Philippines.

Indonesia has leapfrogged from 107th to 88th place. China, which has launched an anti-corruption crackdown, also rose from its 100th spot to tie with Sri Lanka at 83rd, while Thailand tied with India at 76th. Malaysia fell from its 50th spot but was still way ahead at 54th place, while Singapore, as in the past, was the only Asian country in the best 10, placing eighth – a one-notch slip.

In Northeast Asia, South Korea placed 37th, Taiwan 30th, and Hong Kong and Japan were tied at 18th. Denmark was perceived as the cleanest country, followed by Finland and Sweden, while North Korea and Somalia tied for the worst.

As Transparency International pointed out, no country is immune from corruption. What is important is how countries deal with the problem. Perhaps the others improved because they were seen to have done more. The Philippines’ ranking in the Corruption Perceptions Index is a challenge, for both the current administration and the incoming one, to maintain the focus on good governance.