PETTY CORRUPTION IN OUR MIDST

The Philippine Star
07/11/08

Two thirds of Asians claim that the judicial system is corrupt, according to a revealing and enlightening report by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) entitled Tackling Poverty, Transforming Lives released last month.

“In Asia-Pacific, politicians are seen as the most corrupt group in government followed by the police, with the judiciary running a close third,” said the report.

Almost three fourths of other corruption and related criminal activities are likewise not reported to law enforcement authorities according to the study, largely because many victims do not trust the police organization.

The few that do file formal complaints and haul suspects to court still find corruption at their heels. With the many reported cases of judicial bribery from the lowest court upwards, the corrupt can almost always wiggle out of trouble – for a fee.

Sad to say, a big number of such individuals involved in petty corruption involve education, health, environment which, as stated in the report, is all adding to the woes of the common people, especially the poor.

Bribes eating away national treasures and resources

Bribing environment officials and employees in exchange for illegal and uncontrolled extraction of natural resources and minerals is even worse.

Illegal logging and unabated mining, which continue due to wheeling and dealings, and other corrupt and non-sustainable practices in resource management eventually take their toll on local communities.

For decades, illegal and unabated logging and mining have been tagged as culprits in massive flooding and landslides which damage farmlands and communities. Toxic mine tailings, on the other hand, poison waterways and kill the livelihood of fishermen, while at the same time jacking up prices of food commodities due to low supply.

“The sheer volume of profit to be made through shady or illegal handling of natural resources means that corruption in this field often amounts to ‘state capture,’ where private companies pay public officials to shape laws, policies and regulations to their advantage,” said the report.

In Indonesia, the report cited, less than 25 percent of logging operations, estimated to be worth $6.6 billion, is legal. Informal payments and bribes related to logging are estimated at over $1 billion annually.

Taking meds from the sick and dying

Looking beyond the lobby of giant pharmaceutical firms against those backing the Quality Affordable Medicine Law, corrupt practices abound in the lower levels of government where funds for immunizations programs are diverted or slashed along with those for sanitation and nutrition programs.

 “Some studies have indeed suggested that in countries where levels of corruption are higher, some health inputs such as immunization are lower,” says the report. According to a global study, child mortality could be halved with a two-point increase in the World Bank’s Control of Corruption Index, the report added.

Cited as the most corrupt sector of the government, politicians naturally play a key role in messing up healthcare delivery systems in rural areas.

I remember the story years ago of some young physicians who joined the Doctors to the Barrios program rather than seek greener pastures overseas. Several decided to leave the program in disgust when scheming politicians pressured them to sign delivery receipts for inadequate or substandard medicine and supplies delivery – or worse ghost deliveries.

Hence, no doctor, and no supplies for needy rural folk, only fat commissions for greedy politicians who can get away with such brazen acts since constituents choose not to lift a finger to expose the corrupt practice.

Worse, some members of the community opt to merely wait for dole-outs from politicians, who often attempt to redeem and endear themselves to the people they have wrongly served, and may have even driven deeper into poverty.

Creative solutions

Yes, there are ways to curb corruption if there is a desire to do so and with a little creativity to boot.

The example in India regarding a different breed of ‘ghost teachers’ is quite interesting. When it was discovered that some teachers in the Rajasthan region did not report for work half the time required of them, an NGO, after providing cameras with tamper-proof date and time settings, devised a way wherein teachers were required to take photos of themselves at the start and end of each school day to be able to claim their salary equivalent to the number of days they reported to work.

As a result, there was a 33 percent increase in the number of productive school days for the students.

In Cambodia, where apparently bribes had to be paid for household water connection and services, a local water distribution firm decided to revise its pay scheme for employees by basing it on their performance and productivity in carrying out their tasks.

In a seven-year span, the report said, access to potable water in Phnom Penh skyrocketed from 25 percent to 90 percent and the number of households with water connection rose from a little over 100 in 1999 to more than 13,000 in 2006.

Rather than viewing cases of corruption and inefficiency as a way of life and living with its miserable consequences, the India and Cambodia examples prove that something can be done.

What is more important, however, is the collective spirit and will of each one of us to fight corruption – at all levels.

Collegiate Champions League update

A reader wrote asking for clarification as to the eligibility rules that the Collegiate Champions League (PCCL) will adopt for the 2008 Philippine Collegiate Championship games. In response, below describes the principles that will govern the eligibility issue:

1. PCCL respects the prevailing eligibility rules of the different collegiate basketball leagues in the country, recognizing that each league has to consider the unique and specific conditions of the locality where it conducts collegiate basketball competitions. All team official line-up must be approved by their respective “mother leagues.”
2. PCCL, however, will only allow players not more than 25 years of age as at date of competition in the official team line-up.
3. PCCL respects disciplinary actions taken by each league as they affect the participating teams. Therefore, PCCL will not allow the participation of teams that are suspended by their “mother leagues.” Players who are suspended by their “mother leagues” will not also be allowed to play.
4. The official team line-up may include a maximum of two foreign players as approved by the respective “mother league.” However, only one foreign player at a time may be allowed to play in all PCCL games.

For more details about the biggest collegiate basketball event for the year, visit www.CollegiateChampionsLeague.net.

Should you wish to share any insights, write me at Link Edge, 25th Floor, 139 Corporate Center, Valero Street, SalcedoVillage, 1227 MakatiCity. Or e-mail me at reydgamboa@yahoo.com. For a compilation of previous articles, visit www.BizlinksPhilippines.net.