Ducky Paredes

“Corruption is an insidious plague that has a wide range of corrosive effects on societies.”

by Ducky Paredes

In his campaign for the presidency, P’Noy said “Kung walang corrupt, walang mahirap.”

This is probably not altogether true. Corruption is not a new phenomenon in any society. Gloria did not invent it. As long as there have been those who would appropriate advantages for themselves at the expense of the common good, there has been corruption. Poverty, too, has also been around for too long a time. All efforts to defeat it have never done well. The poor among us also keep growing. There are no jobs available for most Pinoys, which is why we have so many Ponoys working in other countries

A lack of loyalty to the larger community expresses itself in the form of bribes, theft of government property, fraud, extortion, giving favors (particularly jobs) to friends, relatives or political allies. From the perspective of the individual, it is often rational to give oneself or one’s family whatever advantages one can get.

Of course, individual rationality of this type often involves a collective irrationality. Everyone gains by cooperating provided that “everyone else” cooperates. If one cannot rely on the cooperation of others, it can be rational for one not to cooperate. But, if, for example, there is a general feeling that all, if not most, civil servants accept bribes, it may seem utterly meaningless to be the only civil servant who will not be on the take.

When this way of thinking and acting becomes the norm, it can be extremely difficult for a society to extract itself from corruption. From this perspective, it is not particularly difficult to explain the existence of wide-spread corruption. This is our situation today.

One has to admit that our President is not corrupt, in the sense that he does not — and, one believes, never will–  take bribes; but, how does he change the mindset of those who are in government with him? It is no secret that most politicians (and presidential appointees) leave government service much richer than when they entered.

There are three traditional approaches to ridding society of corruption, some of which nave already been tried but which seem not to have had much effect:

Strengthening control functions (for example audit offices, effective tax collection, ombudsman institutions, accountability, free and independent press, active civil society, political opposition, regular general elections, efficient legal system, rule of law; and

Changing the incentive structure (for example fair and qualifications-based public sector appointments, easily accessible information and openness, possibility of living on politicians’ and civil servants’ pay, capacity of political institutions to provide basic social services/welfare such as health and medical care, education); and

Strengthening the morals and ethics of politicians, civil servants, representatives of trade and industry and citizens (for example through training in appropriate conduct and civic virtues or using the help of the churches).

For these things to work, it is, of course, necessary that those in power practice (or are perceived to be practicing) what they preach. Then, and only then, when society has been transformed, can citizens have a sense of trust in others (state institutions, government bureaucrats, policemen, soldiers), without having personal knowledge about them.

There is very little time for these reforms to happen. Over time, corruption has been ingrained in our government and society itself. In fact, while others seem to think that because of his high initial popularity ratings, P’Noy can lose a few points and still retain his high numbers, I, for one, would like him to keep his high ratings.

To my mind, reforming the country into a bribeless, incorrupt  haven will take generations and that the best way to get these is to have a series of incorrupt Presidents who will serially, reform the country to become the one that most of us would like it to be.

One honest P’Noy can’t do it all in his one term. He has to remain (like his mother did in 1992) popular enough at the end of his term in 2016 to be able to handpick the next President.

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The two recent scandals about the police (the torture video and the incompetent handling of a hostage situation) indicate that our police is not so much concerned with protecting us, the citizens, against criminals but are not much removed from the ways of criminals.

Something must be done about the police. We should not wait for the time (as in Mexico) where police, in the thousands, had to be fired when it became evident that they were working with the drug syndicates that have been killing local officials and even some policemen. In fact, a lot of the retired Mexican policemen end up openly working with these syndicates as couriers and bodyguards.

Our police situation is not so different. In fact, if one were to do a lifestyle check on our police, majority of the higher echelon will be revealed as living way beyond their legitimate means.

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In 2003, the United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan  said: “Corruption is an insidious plague that has a wide range of corrosive effects on societies. It undermines democracy and the rule of law, leads to violations of human rights, distorts markets, erodes the quality of life, and allows organized crime, terrorism and other threats to human security to flourish. This evil phenomenon is found in all countries – big and small, rich and poor – but it is in the developing world that its effects are most destructive. Corruption hurts the poor disproportionately – by diverting funds intended for development, undermining a government’s ability to provide basic services, feeding inequality and injustice, and discouraging foreign aid and investment. Corruption is a key element in economic under-performance, and a major obstacle to poverty alleviation and development.”

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hvp (08.31.10)

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