EDITORIAL - High risk for corruption

There has been no corruption scandal so far in the defense department under the watch of President Aquino, but the sector remains vulnerable to graft. Or at least that’s the perception of participants in a survey taken by Transparency International UK on corruption in the defense sector worldwide.

The survey ranked the Philippines in the second worst level – band E – in the defense sector’s vulnerability to corruption, due to lack of transparency in the procurement process and weak congressional oversight. Other band E or “high risk” countries are Afghanistan, Bahrain, Cote d’Ivoire, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Morocco, Nigeria, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sri Lanka, Tunisia, Uganda, Uzbekistan, Venezuela and Zimbabwe.

Countries in the worst or “critical risk” band F category are Algeria, Angola, Cameroon, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Egypt, Eritrea, Libya, Syria and Yemen.

Transparency International acknowledged that the Philippines’ defense budget is now available online for public scrutiny. But the anti-corruption watchdog noted that “considerable power” is still vested in the Philippine president while Congress has “limited” de facto oversight authority in the procurement process for defense purposes.

The administration of daang matuwid has not been free of controversy in procurement, but this involved a gun deal for the Philippine National Police that the late interior secretary Jesse Robredo had ordered investigated. The scandal led to the ouster of presidential friend Rico Puno as interior undersecretary in charge of police matters.

That controversy, combined with the weaknesses noted by Transparency International in the defense procurement system, should prompt the administration to further refine the rules for the acquisition of equipment needed for national defense and public safety. These rules are needed especially as the nation moves to achieve credible defense capability and the military modernization program has been extended and given additional funding.

Corruption has long bedeviled the defense sector. Former defense chief Angelo Reyes told a congressional body looking into anomalies in the Armed Forces that he inherited a funding tradition that was seen to be vulnerable to corruption. With his integrity under question, Reyes later killed himself over his mother’s grave.

The weaknesses in the system are being addressed. As indicated in the Transparency International survey, many areas still need to be fixed.