How to solve Corruption

Of course, it is very important that we now have leaders, like P.Noy, committed to eradicating corruption. “Kung walang corrupt, walang mahirap!"

It is also heartening to see Jesse Robredo at the helm of DILG who has already started to set up the system for transparent governance. This early, DILG chief Robredo has posted the DILG's current budget and status of DILG funds in the DILG website which is open for all to scrutinize.

Careful investigation of public funds seems to be part of the "marching orders" for all newly appointed heads of various government agencies and offices. After DBM and PAGCOR, it will just be a question of time before the much-awaited report about GSIS funds, among others, will be publicly presented.

Although it is a welcome relief to find leaders dedicated to eliminating corruption, their efforts alone, however, will not be enough unless all genuine Filipinos help to eradicate this lingering cancer, called corruption, in our land.

For sure, many of you have experienced before your eyes, how corruption works. Why don't you blog or report what you have experienced to honest government leaders, especially to those in-charge of offices where you witnessed corruption? It would be great as well for the new P.Noy administration to have an anti-corruption website for the public.

There are many of you who know, by now, that P.Noy is on Facebook? Then you can go straight to the President himself and be assured that he has certainly instructed his staff to note the important messages from you and the rest of the Filipino people.

All of you, all of us have to help the present leadership combat corruption at all levels, from national to local levels and from top to bottom. All of us know how embedded corruption is at all levels.

The pervasive corruption network or system has prevailed despite change of leadership. What does that tell us? Although largely responsible for their abusive acts, leaders alone do not give birth to corruption nor are they the only ones that nurture corruption. While there are honest employees, there are also corrupt employees at all levels - they have to be exposed as well , especially their corrupt and abusive ways. This is where the help and cooperation of each and every responsible, genuine Filipino is much needed.

In your experience, how and where does corruption take place? Who are involved and how do people in government manage to shamelessly abuse public funds for private gains? You can document your own experience of corruption and you can write and share your experiences with the new government. Go to DILG's website and to P.Noy's Facebook.

Anti-corruption groups may also wish to share with the public their websites - we will be happy to publish these anti-corruption sites and useful information in this column.

We have to know how the corrupt work, who and where they are, and most especially, how they have succeeded and continued with their corruption through the years.

It will help as well if officials at all local and national government offices and corporations are pressured by the Filipino people, by their constituents, to be more transparent and accountable about public funds. It will be great if mandatory publication of information about the office budget (to include the total budget amount at the start of every new administrator, the project amount authorized and spent with specific details about where the project took place, costs of materials, and other details) can be required for public access and information!

A better system of accounting needs to be installed as well. In one government branch in Cebu, some NGOs learned, after some research, that it took about 14 steps to have public funds released after having been authorized and appropriated by the highest approving official. Not only so much paper work but so much people to approach, supposedly to ensure tight scrutiny of public funds. The NGOs, however, also discovered that the 14-steps were easily bypassed, depending on the fund recipients.

This double standard of a very tight bureaucratic fund-release system for most but a very loose, special speedy fund release for the privileged and powerful, urgently needs to be overhauled as such a double standard breeds corruption for a few, on one hand, and disservice to the general public, on the other hand.

Color-coded and numbered formats per office, clear designation of signatories, with the time and date of application and release noted, among other important details, in other words, setting up of a quicker but more transparent system of allocation and release may go a long way in finally curbing corruption that has lingered at all levels of government offices and organizations.

Perhaps, an anti-corruption, multisectoral assembly (an inexpensive gathering) with the aims of: 1) Gathering crucial information about the various forms and processes of corruption, 2) Creating voluntary networks and organizations at all levels (local to national) committed to documenting and exposing corruption, and, 3) Eliciting public commitment versus corruption, may be an important step to organize all Filipinos interested to join the crusade vs corruption at the soonest time possible.

Corruption has a massive and pervasive organization. It will take a committed leadership and people to crush corruption and install a truly transparent and accountable type of governance.

* * *

Email: [email protected]