Honeyman: Corruption outlook

THIS week, Transparency International is publishing its 2014 Corruption Perception Index. This is a league table based on a points system (10 for zero corruption, 0 for overwhelming corruption). I predict that, as usual, the least corrupt countries will be Denmark, New Zealand, Singapore, other Scandinavian countries.

Over the past four years the Philippines has improved from 134th to 94th. This has been good news. To improve by 40 countries in four years is a significant achievement which last year was downplayed by the Philippine office of Transparency International. I hope the Philippines will be shown to have improved when the 2014 results are made available.

There are some reassuring results. The 2013 National Household Survey on Experience with Corruption in the Philippines which was commissioned by the Office of the Ombudsman indicated that fewer Filipino families now give bribes to government officials due, according to the Ombudsman, a growing public intolerance toward corruption.

The survey polled over 10,000 families and dealt with small scale corruption. The survey attempted to ascertain whether bribes were solicited by the receiver (demand-driven) or initiated by the giver (supply-driven). I would have thought that most bribes were solicited (usually in oblique terms) by the receiver (demand-driven).

The survey found that government agencies involved in processing registry documents and licenses were the most likely to solicit bribes.

Gratifyingly the report showed that the public, especially the poor, is becoming more conscious of the bad effects of corruption.

Fighting corruption is in the hands of all of us because in the payment of “grease money,” both parties are committing an offense.

As I mentioned in my article on Monday, December 1, rapid advances in technology enables concrete evidence of bribery to be easily collected, for example by mobile telephones, and readily transmitted to the Ombudsman’s office (if known) or to social media sites.

Corruption in and around Ceneco is a serious concern since systems losses are now up to 16 percent. This means that for every six kilowatt-hours which are properly paid for, another one kilowatt-hour is “lost,” mainly stolen.

There is talk about “jumper cables” where electricity may be stolen but this is small scale. Unconfirmed rumors talk about the use of polarizers by large retail outlets which may account for the large scale losses.

Since there is a cap of 13 percent in systems losses, this means that any losses greater than 13 percent have to be “swallowed” by Ceneco. Unless Cenceo can bring systems losses below 13 percent quickly, the financial state of our cooperative will be parlous.

What is needed are successful prosecutions. I know of none. In the last year or so the Waterfront Hotel in Cebu was accused of stealing electricity but the case was adjudged not to have been proven.

We are told that the “chalk allowance” of teachers is to increase to P1,500 in 2015 (from P1,000 in 2014). Teachers I have spoken to do not confirm receipt of “chalk money.”

We need an active Ombudsman’s office to identify what happens to “chalk money” and to verify whether teachers are actually receiving it.

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