Honeyman: Transparency International
I LIKE to accentuate good news if I can.
Transparency International’s (TI) 2014 corruption perception league table shows, once again, that the Philippines is reducing corruption, both in absolute terms and in comparison with other countries.
Data for the past five annual results are as follows: 2014 – Rank 85; 2013 – Rank 94; 2012 – Rank 105; 2011 – Rank 129; and 2010 – Rank 134.
No other country has improved more rapidly than the Philippines. To progress from the 134th most corrupt country in the world (out of 172) to 85th in the past four years is an excellent achievement.
The fight against corruption is an attrition process. It is not won overnight. Corruption depends on an abuse of ascendancy, when the ascendant party is offered or extorts bribes from those seeking an advantage.
In absolute terms, the Philippines is also showing significant improvement.
TI’s scoring system goes from 0 (horrendously corrupt) to 100 (squeaky clean). The Philippines has progressed from 23 in 2010 to 38 now.
Of course 38 is not good but there is improvement. Looking at the whole league table, only 16 countries achieve a passing grade of 75.
These countries are Denmark, New Zealand, Finland, Sweden, Norway, Switzerland, Singapore, Netherlands, Luxembourg, Canada, Australia, Germany, Iceland, United Kingdom, Belgium, Japan.
The total population of these countries is well under 10 percent of the global population. In other words, over 90 percent of the world’s population live in failing grade countries as far as corruption is concerned.
We are now more satisfactory in comparison with our Asean partners.
The results are as follows: Singapore – Rank 7; Malaysia – Rank 50; Philippines – Rank 85; Thailand – Rank 85; Indonesia – Rank 107; Vietnam – 119; Timor-Leste – 133; Laos – 145; Cambodia – 156; and Myanmar – 156.
It was not long ago that the Philippines was considered to be more corrupt than Vietnam and Indonesia.
Our better results should hopefully enable the Philippines to attract more foreign investments. The obstacles still are government red tape and overreach (both indicators of possible corruption), and unsatisfactory infrastructure.
China is going backwards. For as long as I can remember China was perceived to be less corrupt than the Philippines. Now it is significantly more corrupt (100th in the league table, compared with 80th in 2013). This will affect China’s ability to negotiate on the world’s stage and also to attract foreign investment.
The level of corruption reflects the kind of society in which we live. A highly stratified society will be more corrupt than an egalitarian one.
The least corrupt countries such as Denmark, New Zealand, Sweden, Norway are characterized by the fact that there are no downtrodden. Yes, there are those who are strapped for cash but there are excellent social services which are provided as a right, not as a privilege.
On Wednesday I shall write about how corruption may be addressed and reduced.