Although the Philippines is admittedly more corrupt than Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia and Vietnam, the fact is that these are our more developed neighbors, and per the Corruption Perceptions Index of Transparency International, they are really not that much less corrupt than we are. Yet, they are making disproportionately bigger development strides than we are. They are improving the quality of life of their peoples faster and more steadily than we are.
Why? Why are we lagging behind these countries? True, corruption explains a great deal of our slow and patchy development. But there has to be more to it than the erosion of our development by corruption. There has to be a more causative reason for our being the fifth poorest country in Southeast Asia.
I tried to figure this out using the classic problem-solving technique of asking what they are doing differently. And the difference is most likely our neighbors’ consistency in the pursuit of their strategic development goals. Whatever political party is in power, the same development goals are pursued. Their corruption, therefore, happens in the context of a defined development strategy. This consistent strategic focus cushions them against the negative impact of whatever corruption might seep into their systems.
The Philippines, on the other hand, goes where the next president wants it to go. The nation changes direction with every new president. For that matter, provinces go where the new governor goes and towns go where the new mayor wants to go. Worse still, no incoming Filipino president, governor or mayor builds on whatever good a predecessor might have accomplished. Instead, incumbents discredit their predecessors in every possible way, their way of pre-empting the former’s possible comeback.
Meanwhile, an unprincipled Senate and House (of Representatives) go where the president goes for fear of getting no budget for projects that give them commissions they use for their next election campaign and for their families’ comfort and convenience. This explains why they get rich quick and live luxurious lives that they flaunt to constituents whom they neglect and leave struggling to make ends meet.
Our electoral system gives us a clue as to why we change direction with every new president. We do not choose between political parties on the basis of their social philosophy and vision for the country. We elect individuals on the basis, at best, of honeyed promises and, at worst, of their cash dole-outs. No wonder when these individuals are in office, their meme is invariably: “Ako ang nanalo, ako ang masusunod.”
Our political parties are temporary groupings of persons for the sole purpose of winning in our cash-denominated elections. Since they have neither a specific style of governance nor a clear vision for the country, they are indistinguishable from one another. Their politician members are all committed solely to the pursuit of their respective ambitions of wealth and power.
We have no defined development strategy. That’s the difference. Instead, therefore, of moving forward, we move sideways with every new administration. That’s why we are at the bottom of the pile. Corruption merely tamps us further down.