Philippines on the Right Track in Fighting Corruption

Freidrich Naumann Foundation for Liberty

Former Commissioner and Head of Operations of HK-ICAC Tony Kwok

Anti-corruption expert Tony Kwok, who was also an investigator at the Office of the Ombudsman during the tenure of Simeon Marcelo, said that the Philippines is on the right track in its fight against corruption and is doing better than other countries in Asia.

The Former Commissioner and Head of Operations of Hong Kong Independent Commission Against Corruption (HK-ICAC) presented the survey results of the Social Weather Stations (SWS) on the General Performance of the National Administration from March 4-7, 2011. Kwok noted that President Benigno Aquino’s rating initial rating of 20+ in the area of eradicating graft and corruption was unprecedented, and that it is still high but declining. In the SWS survey, the rating is now 14+. He attributed this to public perception, more than as the result of actual actions of the government. "Perception is crucial," he would emphasize several times.

Kwok said that there is nothing unique about corruption in the Philippines. He narrated how Hong Kong was very corrupt in the 1970s, where corruption was blatant and even syndicated. “Many believe that it would need a decade to eradicate corruption when it has become embedded in the society. That is false. Hong Kong was able to do it in three years,” expressed Kwok. Kwok suggested a three-pronged approach to corruption: education, prevention, and deterrence. He underscored that these three are equally important to fight corruption. More so, there should be political will to enforce a system that has a zero-tolerance to corrupt practices. “The people should at least have the perception that their government is serious about fighting corruption, that is already half the success. But of course, we have to work on all levels, in all sectors to fully address corruption. The goal is to have an ethical society that does not operate on double standards,” Kwok stressed.

Kwok is in Manila for consultation meetings. He was invited to give a lecture onCorruption in the Philippines: What went wrong? What can we do now? by the Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG). Kwok’s visit is timely as the Philippines welcomes the resignation of Ombudsman Merciditas Gutierrez whose leadership at the Office of the Ombudsman was marred by partiality. Corruption cases that involved President Gloria Arroyo, her family, and cabinet were purposely docked for years.

The data gathered by Kwok showed that there are 1.8 million civil servants in the Philippines and only 200 state prosecutors. This gives a ratio of 1:9000. The number of prosecutors already increased from the time Kwok was a consultant at the Office of the Ombudsman. There were only 37 prosecutors then, and their conviction rate was merely 14%. Kwok advocated for budget increase for anti-corruption agencies that would contribute in the professionalization of their staff.

Prof. Winnie Monsod and Transparency and Accountability Network Executive Director Vince Lazatin

Prof. Winnie Monsod, who was a reactor at the lecture, challenged the audience to take advantage of the opportunity that the Philippines has now to fight corruption. “The public is already outraged by the corruption issues that have been hounding the country for years. We have a committed leader who is perceived as clean. The combination of these equals a perfect timing for an anti-corruption campaign,” expressed Monsod.

“Ever since President Aquino declared that there will be no wangwang (VIP car sirens), people’s tolerance to it has decreased. When before it was normal to hear it, now it has become of an exception. This means that we can also quickly change the attitude towards corruption,” encouraged Transparency and Accountability Network Executive Director Vince Lazatin, who was also at the forum as a reactor.

The lecture is part of the year-long 25th anniversary celebrations of PCGG. An exhibit entitled Excesses, Recoveries, and Good Government kicked off the programs. Kwok’s lecture is the first in the Haydee Yorac Lecture Series organized by PCGG and supported by the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Liberty (FNF). Haidee Yorac was the 11th head of the Office of the Ombudsman and a Ramon Magsaysay Awardee for Public Service. “The Aquino Administration had already gone about moving the goalposts on good governance. We hope that this lecture series would encourage not only discussions, but concrete actions in the fight against corruption,” said FNF Philippines Country Director Jules Maaten.