Corruption Issues, Government, National Matters, Politics
By Cai U. Ordinario
Business Mirror
Sept 24, 2008
THE Philippines’ image as a good place for doing business has taken another hit, with the country dropping to 141st place—among 180 countries—in Transparency International’s (TI) Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) 2008, which measures the perceived levels of public-sector corruption in a given country.
The index draws on different expert and business surveys, and scores countries or territories based on the degree of public-sector corruption as perceived by business people and country analysts. The 2008 CPI scores 180 countries, the same number as the 2007 CPI, on a scale from zero, which means highly corrupt, to 10, which means highly clean.
In the survey, the Philippines garnered a CPI score of 2.3, placing it at a lower 141st place from 131st place in 2007. In Asia and the Pacific, the Philippines ranked 25th out of 32 economies.
“Across the globe, stronger institutions of oversight, firm legal frameworks and more vigilant regulation will ensure lower levels of corruption, allowing more meaningful participation for all people in their societies, stronger development outcomes and a better quality of life for marginalized communities,” TI said in a statement.
The report added: “Overall, corruption and lack of transparency, particularly in political financing, clearly remain serious challenges across the region. Out of 32 countries and territories in the Asia-Pacific region included in [the] 2008 CPI, 22 scored below 5, indicating a serious corruption problem in the public sector. Only 10 countries scored above 5.”
The Philippines is ranked 141st along with three other countries—Yemen, Cameroon and Iran. In 2007 the country ranked 131st with Burundi, the Honduras, Iran, Libya, Nepal and Yemen.
Worldwide, Denmark, Sweden and New Zealand were ranked 1st, with a CPI score of 9.3; followed by Singapore, ranked 4th, with a score of 9.2; and Finland and Switzerland, tied at 5th place, with a CPI score of 9.0.
The lowest were Somalia, ranked 180th, with a CPI score of 1.0; Guinea, Sudan and Chad, ranked 173rd, with a score of 1.6; and Equatorial Guinea and the Democratic Republic of Congo, both ranked 171st, with a CPI score of 1.7.
In a statement, TI said that the 2008 CPI highlighted the link between poverty, failed institutions, and rampant graft as many poor countries showed the highest levels of corruption.
Transparency International also said that other backsliders in the 2008 CPI indicate that oversight mechanisms to curb corruption are still weak and are at risk among rich nations.
The organization said that poorer countries are often plagued by corrupt judiciaries and ineffective parliamentary oversight, while wealthy countries showed evidence of insufficient regulation of the private sector in terms of addressing overseas bribery by their countries, and weak oversight of financial institutions and transactions.
“In the poorest countries, corruption levels can mean the difference between life and death, when money for hospitals or clean water is in play. The continuing high levels of corruption and poverty plaguing many of the world’s societies amount to an ongoing humanitarian disaster and cannot be tolerated. But even in more privileged countries, with enforcement disturbingly uneven, a tougher approach to tackling corruption is needed,” said Transparency International Chairperson Huguette Labelle.
Further, TI said low-income countries where corruption is perceived to be at its highest, jeopardize their chances of meeting the eight United Nations Millennium Development Goals.
The organization said that due to this, efforts to curb corruption among these countries should be doubled and requires more focused and coordinated efforts by the donor community. This, TI said, will ensure that development assistance will strengthen governance institutions.