CHAPTER 10“COPING WITH CORRUPTION

THROUGH WORK ETHIC AND

ACCOUNTABILITY IN PUBLIC SERVICE”

TRANSPARENCYINTERNATIONAL

BY: DANILO NOPAL

Transparency International (TI) is a global coalition against corruption. It is an international organization dedicated to documenting and tracing levels of government corruption.

CountryRank

Some SEA Countries

2008 CPI SurveyUsed*

ConfidenceRating

4 Singapore 9.2 9 9.0-9.347 Malaysia 5.1 9 4.5-5.7

80 Thailand 3.5 9 3.0-3.9

121 Vietnam 2.7 9 2.4-3.1126 Indonesia 2.6 10 2.3-2.9141 Philippines 2.3 9 2.1-2.5145 East Timor 2.2 4 1.8-2.5151 Laos 2.0 6 1.6-2.3166 Cambodia 1.8 7 1.7-1.9

178 Myanmar 1.3 4 1.0-1,5

Table 16. 2008 CPI in Some South East Asian Countries by Transparency International

*Survey Used” Refers to the number of surveys that was used to assess a country’s performance. 17 surveys were used and at least three surveys were required for a country to be included in the Corruption Perception Index (CPI).**Corruption 0 to 10: A score of “10” means politics is totally clean while a score of “0” means that it is totally corrupt.

As stated, Transparency International ranked Philippines as the 141st most corrupt government in the world in 2008. Corruption in the country is very high; politics is very dishonest as compared to other neighboring Southeast Asian states. On the contrary, Transparency International also identified 10 of the most clean and honest states in the world as shown in the table.

CountryRank

Most Clean and

Honest Countries

2008 CPI SurveyUsed

ConfidenceRating

1 Denmark 9.3 6 9.1-9.41 New Zealand 9.3 6 9.2-9.5

1 Sweden 9.3 6 9.2-9.44 Singapore 9.2 9 9.0-9.3

5 Finland 9.0 6 8.4-9.45 Switzerland 9.0 6 8.7-9.27 Iceland 8.9 5 8.1-9.47 Netherlands 8.9 6 8.5-9.19 Australia 8.7 8 8.2-9.1

9 Canada 8.7 6 8.4-9.1

Table 17. 2008 Transparency International’s Most Clean and Honest Government and Politics

CORRUPTIONEVERYWHERE

BY: ANGELICA CASES

Corruption means that something has been changed so that it no longer meets its proper purposes. In the Philippines particularly, corruption is understood as “the misuse of public power for private profit.” In political democracy, our concern with corruption is with officials performing their public tasks improperly in order to receive personal benefits.

Corruption exists not only in government bureaucracies; they do dwell in the private sectors as well. But the question of corruption is more public in scope, involving government officials and even employees alike. Corruption as a distortion to government efficiency and accountability has been present since time immemorial, and it seems though there is not much we can do about it.

The goals of efficiency and accountability have been sacrificed in favor of some politicians. Corruption is not something society should tolerate. Nevertheless, corruption does exist everywhere, it is worse in some places than on others so there are things we should do about it, after all, widespread corruption breeds political instability.

“It is worth noting that corruption is not equally pervasive everywhere, and that should give us some hope. If it varies, there must be reasons that cause it to be greater in one place than another. Unfortunately, a number of these reasons do not offer much leverage. Societies undergoing rapid change often appear susceptible to corruption, partly because norms of behavior are in flux, so people do not have stable moral guides for behavior and partly because there are so many opportunities for corruption in a situation of rapid economic change.”

-Shively (Political Analyst)

ETHICS ANDGOVERNANCE

BY: VERONICA LOUISE LUCERO

The integration of moral values and ethical standards in public

administration is one effective strategy of responsive and good

governance in the midst dishonesty, corruption, and mediocrity in the

public service. Ethical values traits would ensure proper guidance

among government employees only if these moral recovery principles are

enforceable in actions among all public officials and employees, and

punitive in character whenever violated, suppressed or restricted

personal advantage.

Ethics is gaining prominence in the discourse about governance today.

There is a perception that standards in public life are in decline. This

raises questions about the costs of misconduct on the part of those who have been entrusted with guarding

public interests and resources. These costs are losses in trust and

confidence in public institutions and losses in precious resources which

were meant to support the economic and social development of nations

and peoples.

BUILDING ANHONEST

TO GOODNESSCIVIL SERVICE

BY: REYNAN OLA

Honesty is the best policy, so public servant must have the values of being an honest person and they are expected to discharge his duties and responsibilities regard to the values of accountability, honesty, transparency and neutrality.

As declared in the 1987 Philippine Constitution under Sec. 27, of Article II, provides a leading declaration that the

State shall maintain honesty and integrity in public service and take

positive effective measures against graft and corruption

The civil servants are driven in public purpose, public interest and public service, so they must not be selfish in their duties. However, in spite of all the efforts to keep the civil service efficient, competent, accountable and professional, the civil service, together with officers and employees remain politically vulnerable to graft and corrupt

practices.

A CALL FORWORK ETHIC

ANDRENEWAL

BY: PETER JOHN TORADO

Work ethic is a system of values in which central importance is ascribed to work or purposeful activity and to qualities of character, believed to be promoted by work. For the purpose of this chapter, work ethic refers to a set of values based on the moral virtues in public service like: honesty, accountability and professionalism.

Ethical behavior for civil servants is enshrined in numerous laws and regulations in the Philippines. The Philippine Constitution for one sets, the legal framework of accountability of public officials under Article XI, which is primarily predicated on the declaration that “public official is a public trust.”

There is also the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards (RA 6713) in 1989 for all government officials and employees; the Anti-Graft and Corruption Practices Act of 1960 (RA 3019); the Administrative Code of 1987; Art. 212 (Section on Bribery) of the Revised penal Law; the Anti-Red Tape Act of 2007 (RA 9485) and even the Moral Recovery Program.

There are also three constitutional Oversight Bodies: the Office of the Ombudsman, the Commission on Audit, and the Civil Service Commission.

The issue of graft and corruption has been a topmost concern perhaps of all top government administrators in the country then and now. But, it appears that institutional efforts failed to address corruption in government offices, and yet it became bigger and wider since even those in top-level management are implicated.

A CASE OF CORRUPTION:THE POPLE’SPERCEPTION

BY: ZILDJIAN KWAN

MAIN FORMS OF CORRUPTION: General bribery or gift-giving Diversion of budget away from

projects No transparency in public

bidding Overpricing procurement Doing substandard projects Underreporting of tax collection Tax and tariff evasion Pork barrel fund Cronyism

Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH)

Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR)

Department of Education (DepED)Bureau of Customs (BOC)/ Philippine Ports

Authority (PPA)National Irrigation Administration (NIA)Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR)Department of Health (DOH)Department of Interior and Local

Government (DILG)National Power Corporation (NAPOCOR)Bureau of Immigration (BOI)

MOST NUMBER OF CORRUPTION COMPLAINTS RECEIVEDBY THE OFFICE OF THE OMBUDSMAN IN THIS ORDER:

1.That candidates must finance their own electoral campaigns, owing a debt of gratitude to many sponsors who call in favors when the candidates are elected

2.The incredibly poor compensation and reward system for civil servants

3.The poor enforcement of anti-corruption laws in the Philippines that renders corruption a low risk, high reward activity.

THREE NOTABLE STRUCTURAL SOURCES OF CORRUPTION WERE

IDENTIFIED:

a) Wide discretion of bureaucratsb) Burdensome regulations and

transactions systemsc) Weak control mechanismsd) Information asymmetry

between the rich and the poore) Weak public vigilancef) Elements of Filipino political

culture

OTHER CAUSES OF CORRUPTIONIN THE PHILIPPINES ARE:

THE CULTURE OF

CORRUPTIONBY: AILYN CATOLICO

Corruption means a “failure to carry out proper or public responsibilities because of

the pursuit of personal gain.” In many countries, graft and corruption has indeed

become a culture or a way of life. The culture of graft and corruption is an

administrative issue since time, particularly in underdeveloped societies,

and the Philippines is privy to this. In most cases, corruption has a material or

narrowly financial character, its most particular political manifestation is bribery or sleaze. Regarding politics, corruption is understood with officials performing their public tasks improperly in order to receive

individual repayment.

Furthermore, studies of corruption in the Philippines point to these adversarial effects which include, but not limited to:1. Wastage of public resources as when infrastructure

projects are poor; and substandard and do not last their projected useful lifetime;

2. Low revenue collection, as when bribes are paid in lieu of taxes and charges in revenue collecting agencies;

3. Other socially unfeasible behavior such as tax evasion and smuggling;

4. Cronyism, the highest form of corruption expressed in cartels and monopolies that reduce competitiveness in industry;

5. Increase in the cost of doing business in the country; and

6. Waste in the resources for development, which postpones the poor Filipino escape from poverty.

PUBLIC OFFICE

IS APUBLIC TRUST

BY: JAYSON EGANA

Art. XI Sec. I of the 1987 constitution of the Philippines, states the accountability of public officials, in the wise: "Public Office is a Public Trust. Public officers and employees must at all times be accountable to the people, serve them with utmost responsibility, integrity, loyalty, and efficiency, act with patriotism and justice, and lead modest lives."

A public office has the following characteristics:

a. It is a public trust

b. It is not vested right

c. It is not a property

d. It cannot be inherited

A public office is the right, authority, and duty created and conferred by law, by which, for a given period, either fixed by law or enduring at the pleasure of the creating power to be exercised by him for the benefit of the public.

PUBLIC OFFICERS

AND EMPLOYEESIN THE CIVIL

SERVICEBY: CONRADO SAUGON JR.

As a normative value, civil servants should be professional, competent, efficient and responsive to the political and top administrators, committed to implement policies and programs, honest, and accountable to the people they should serve. The civil service or bureau curacy is a major institution in democratic administration.

A public officer shall not be liable by way of moral and exemplary damages or acts done in the performance of official duties, unless there is a clear showing of bad faith, malice or gross negligence.

Among rights of civil service officials and employees in the Philippines include:In spite of the political values imposed upon them, the public officials and employees of the civil service shall likewise enjoy the following rights:1. They have the right to be protected from their

conditions of work and reassured of living ages.2. They have the right to make organizations or

associations’ among themselves but are prohibited to conduct strikes or rallies;

3. No officer or employee of the civil service shall be dismissed except for a cause.

4. They have the right to be paid regularly when they retired from service and to receive pensions and gratuities by law

5. They have the right to overtime and holidays pays, including sick leave/ vacation leave with pay, maternity benefit allowances, and other benefits.

ANTI-GRAFT AND

CORRUPTIONPRACTICES

BY: DANILO NOPAL

1. Persuading, inducing or influencing another public officer to perform an act constituting a violation of rules and regulations or an offense in connection with official duties or allowing himself to be persuaded, induced or influenced to commit such violation or offense;2. Directly or indirectly requesting or receiving any gift for himself or for any other person in connection with any contract between the government and other party;

3. Accepting or having any member of his family accept employee in a private enterprise which has pending official business with him;

7. Directly or indirectly having financial interest in any business or contract or in connection with which he intervenes or takes part in his official capacity;

6. Entering, or behalf of the government, into any contract that is grossly disadvantageous to the government;

5. Neglecting or refusing without sufficient justification to act within a reasonable time on any matter pending before him;

4. Causing and undue injury to any party, including the government or giving any private party any unwarranted benefits in the discharge of his official functions;

9. Knowingly approving or granting any license, permit in favor of any person not qualified;

10. Divulging valuable information of a confidential character.

8. Directly or indirectly becoming interested for personal gain in any transaction or act requiring the approval of the board, panel or group of which he is a part;

BUREAUCRCYAND

ACCOUNTABILITYBY: AILYN CATOLICO

Bureaucracy - basically means rule by office.

Bureaucracy refers to:All the rules and procedures followed by government departments and similar organizations.

Accountability is a central problem for governments which are or claim to be democratic. The activities of civil servants and public agencies must follow the will of the people to whom they are ultimately responsible. The publishes of their employment and goals thus prescribes their behavior and circumscribes their choices.

• Internal Control in the bureaucratic accountability may take the form of ministerial direction, formal regulation, competition between departments and professional standards.

• External Control in the bureaucratic accountability may be in the form of criticisms from the mass media, judicial branch or legislative department and/or the pressures from the Ombudsman.

TWO FORMS OF ACCOUNTABILITY:

CODE OF CONDUCT ETHICAL

STANDARDS FOR PUBLIC OFFICIALS

BY: ZILDJIAN KWAN

In 1989, the Philippine legislature passed RA 6713, a law embodying the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees.According to a Civil Service Commission Report on Ethics and Accountability in 2000, it is said that the Code spells out in fine details the do’s and don’ts for government officials and employees in and out of the workplace. These do’s and don’ts are encapsulated in the eight norms of conduct to be observed by all government officials and employees.

CODE OF ETHICS

Nationalism and Patriotism

Responsiveness to the Public

Justness and SincerityProfessionalismCommitment to

public interest

Commitment to democracy

Simple Living

BASIS FORDISCIPLINAR

Y ACTIONBY: CONRADO SAUGON JR.

Under the Civil Service Law, the following acts shall constitute grounds for disciplinary measures, suspension, or removal from work of any public officer or employee.

This is also reinforced under the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Civil Service Officers and Employees and the Moral Recovery Program and lists the following traits.

1. Dishonest2. Oppression3. Neglect of duty4. Misconduct5. Disgrace and immoral act6. Being notoriously undesirable7. Discourtesy in the course of

official duties8. Inefficiency in the performance

of official duties9. Bribery or other acts

punishable under anti-graft laws

10. Conviction of a crime involving moral turpitude

11. Improper or unauthorized solicitation of contributions from subordinate employees12. Falsification of official documents13. Frequent unauthorized absences or

tardiness14. Habitual drunkenness15. Refusal to perform official duties16. Disgraceful, immoral or dishonest conduct17. Physical or mental incapacity or disability due to immoral or vicious habits18. Borrowing money by superior officers from subordinates19. Willful failure to pay just debts20. Nepotism and many more

A POLITICALCOMMITMEN

TBY: ANGELICA CASES

The legal infrastructure that prescribes ethical conduct of public servants is reinforced by political commitment. This political commitment, while difficult to benchmark, has been demonstrated by some policy pronouncements. Quite significant is the 10-point action agenda of the government and the Medium Term Development Plan (2000-2004) which embody the framework for the country’s socio-economic development.

The agenda and the MTDP place the implementation of a sustained training and orientation program on Anti-Graft and Corruption Practices Laws and on the Ethical Standards Act of Public Officials and Employees among the administration’s priorities to reduce graft and corruption and exact high standards of ethics in government.

THE RULE OF THE

OMBUDSMANBY: PETER JOHN TORADO

AS WATCHDOG:> it exercises oversights role by monitoring all the general and specific performance of government officials and employees in order that the law may be administered and executed justly, fairly and equality for all. It also ensures that prompt efficient and steady flow of service is accorded to the citizens.

AS MOBILIZER:> it effectively enlists broad supports of multi-sectorial stakeholders by establishing a continuing partnership with other governmental agencies, a civil society, non- governmental organization, business, academe, youth, and other major sectors of society for a nationwide campaign for integrity in public service the propagation of sound Filipino values of honesty, discipline, respect for elders and authority, as well as promotion of a transparent, accountable and effective governance.

AS OFFICIAL CRITICS:> it initiates the conduct of review of the policies systems, procedures and practices in the performance of the critical functions of specific government agencies and makes recommendations for a systematic operation of the government machinery free from bureaucratic inconveniences and for adoption of strategies to address corruption vulnerabilities in their organization.

AS DISPENSEROF JUSTICE:

>It is administratively sanctions erring government officials and employees and criminal charges and prosecutes then including private persons founds to have conspired with them.

The Composition of Ombudsman shall be:

• The Ombudsman • One overall deputy• One deputy for Luzon • One deputy for Visayas• One deputy for Mindanao• A separate deputy for the Military Service

OVERSIGHT BODIES

AGAINST CORRUPTION

BY: JAYSON EGANA

The 3 Constitutional Oversight Bodies

Office of the Ombudsman- is an ombudsman responsible for investigating and prosecuting Philippine government officials accused of crimes, especially graft and corruption. Civil Service Commission- is a government agency that is constituted by legislature to regulate the employment and working conditions of civil servants, oversee hiring and promotions, and promotes the values of the public service.Commission on Audit - is an independent constitutional commission established by the Constitution of the Philippines. It has the primary function to examine, audit and settle all accounts and expenditures of the funds and properties of the Philippine government.

ANTI-RED TAPEACT

[RA 9485]BY: REYNAN OLA

RA 9485, otherwise known as the Anti-Red Tape Act, is the newest legislation signed by PGMA in June 2007 in an effort to ensure honesty and responsibility among public officials and employees. It shall be maintained through measures that shall promote transparency with regard to the manner of transacting with the public.

Moreover, RA 9485 likewise holds the heads of the agencies accountable to the public in the delivery of fast, efficient, convenient and reliable services and these can be easily done as the new Law requires the establishment of service standards or a Citizen’s Charter.

Any official or employee found guilty of violating the new Law’s provisions shall be sanctioned with varying level of penalties depending on the nature of violation. Grave offenses, on the other hand, like fixing or colluding with fixers will merit dismissal or and perpetual disqualification from public office.

THE FUTURE OF

CORRUPTIONBY: DANILO NOPAL

The government has continuing initiatives to come up with more responsive public administration structures and processes are ongoing efforts to address the ever pervasive problem of corruption. Corruption or the “misuse of public power for private profit” inhibits growth and development, distorts access to services for poor communities, undermines public confidence in the government’s will and capacity to serve the public, deters trade and investment, reduce revenues, increases costs and propagates wasteful allocation and use of scare resources.

Various sectors of the society are doing their best to combat corruption, enhance government efficiency, effectiveness, and accountability. It is noteworthy to state that institutions have been set up and several laws were enacted to fight against graft and corruption.

Coping with corruption in government includes a number of practical suggestions like public education program; acting as watchdogs; encouraging more the civil society for plunder and corruption watch; living by good examples by highly public officials; changing incentive programs; professionalizing the bureaucracy.

International pressure can also help.Recently, a new international Transparency International was founded to help states around the world reduce corruption in their governments.

OPERATIONAL THRUST OF ETHICS AND

ACCOUNTABILITYBY: VERONICA LOUISE LUCERO

Without a strand of doubt, public officials become corrupt for personal enrichment. The material or physical gains one reaps from corruption is the motivation why this culture exists or will continue to persist particularly among underdeveloped countries.

Corrupt officials often have strong, domineering personalities; they are popular and are viewed by colleagues as effective, thereby creating for themselves "space to maneuver"; they slowly “slide down toward corruption” and are unlikely to view themselves as corrupt; and they “do not limit their corruption to one incident” but instead maintain “a long institutionalized relationship" with their corruptors.

An agency's culture can encourage corruption, notably when “supervision of corrupt official is not strong management has not promoted a clear integrity policy” and “loyalty and solidarity” among colleagues both inside and outside the agency deter reporting of corrupt activities.

LEVEL OF ETHICS

BY: ZILDJIAN KWAN

ETHICS

PERSONAL MORALITY

PROFESSIONAL ETHICS

ETHICS IN ORGNIZATION

SOCIAL ETHICS

Personal Morality

- is the basic sense of right and wrong. This is a function of our post and is dependent on factors such as parental influences, religious beliefs, cultural and social norms.

Professional Ethics

- public administrators increasingly recognize a set of professional norms and rules that obligate them to act in a certain professional way.

Ethics in Organization

- every organization has an environment or culture that includes both formal and informal rules of ethical conduct

Social Ethics

- the requirements of social ethics oblige members of a given society to act in ways that both protect individuals and further the progress of the group as a whole.

TOWARDS ETHICAL AND ACCOUNTABLEGOVERNNCE

BY: AILYN CATOLICO

The public education program against corruption places extra

premium on work ethic and accountability for government officials and employees in the

bureaucracy. The need for moral recovery is an utmost

importance in redefining the political culture of the leaders and the public towards more responsive, professional and

competent public administration.

The government though has been truly responsive to fighting against

graft and corruption but officers and employees, whether elected or

selected, must learn to institutionalize the laws against

corruption particularly the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards. If public servants learned to value

these pertinent laws and regulations and operationalized the requirements

set by laws on how public service should be delivered will be marked

with good governance instead.