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Wednesday, August 13, 2003
Antalan: The other war v. corruption
By Roger P. Antalan
THE Asia Foundation, in collaboration with the League of Cities of the Philippines, has sponsored an ambitious program to prevent and combat corruption. The ongoing project is piloted in the Mindanao area.
The seven brave cities that volunteered to join the program are the cities of Dapitan, Iligan, Surigao, Cotabato, Marawi, General Santos and the Island Garden City Samal.
Asked why the choice of Mindanao cities, Mr. Steven Rood, the program director, answered with knowing smile and in Filipino: "May pag-asa sa Mindanao (There is hope in Mindanao)."
The hope for success is greater if we consider the crucial participation of the civil society, the academe, and the NGO leaders in the project.
And so last year, the seven mayors and the group of 30 participants went to the Rand Institute in Sta. Monica, California, for a weeklong training and orientation, under the tutelage of professor Robert Klitgaard, the foremost guru on anti-corruption.
Ms Joji Ilagan-Bian, chairperson of the Mindanao Business Council, was with the group. The project is called TAG-Transparency and Accountability Governance.
Professor Klitgaard will be in Surigao City, August 11-12 for a follow through session with the seven cities. Fourteen other city mayors from other parts of the country will join the sharing sessions on the accomplishments of the TAG cities in promoting transparency and accountability in governance.
He will also be in Davao City for the orientation and workshop with the civil society groups and key officers of the seven City Coalition for Accountable Governance (CCTAG) under the auspices of the Asia Foundation and Mindanao Coalition for Transparent and Accountable Governance (MCTAG) headed by the Mindanao Business Council.
In this dynamic pursuit towards eliminating corrupt practices, the seven Mindanao cities pledged their full support to address their respective concerns. This voluntary participation involves a lot of honest soul-searching, and is a humbling step for all concerned. For issues on transparency, accountability, nepotism, and efficiency of the different sectors in the community will be subjected to positive criticism.
A system transformation is expected to result from the program's many interventions. Corruption is defined by the equation: C=M+D-A. Corruption equals Monopoly plus Discretion minus Accountability. Through a systems approach, there is need to dismantle the monopoly and discretion of one decision-maker and make sure there is transparency and accountability.
In Igacos, for instance, through the guidance of the TAG Consultants, the first to be scrutinized and analyzed was the business permits and licensing sections. Bottlenecks and pressure points were malpractices could happen were identified and alternative "safe" procedures were immediately installed.
The Ateneo de Davao University Center for Local Governance (CLG) facilitators installed the Public Service Excellence Program (PSEP) for the employees, motivating and training them how to render fast, accurate and hassle-free service delivery. The LGU itself has identified areas of transactions were limited discretion can become a temptation and alternative solutions have been recommended.
A diskette system has been designed for the Committee on Awards to avoid internal manipulation and there is an ongoing plan to computerize the procurement system, as practiced and recommended by the DBM.
Although a number of Civil Society and NGO members have been invited and are involved in different committees, the coalition between the LGU and the Civil Society (CCTAG) and the NGO is still in the formative stage of the Transparent and Accountable Network (TAN). The Igacos Chamber of Commerce has only been formally organized very recently. The alert and deep involvement of the business sector in the transparency project is very crucial and necessary.
In conclusion, it has been said that to be great does not only involve working harder and smarter, on the one hand, but also, on the other hand, it means not to be faced with the same old problem year in and year out. Hopefully with the TAG project, the nagging problems of corruption will not come back every year like a migraine or a sad refrain.
(August 13, 2003 issue)
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