Corruption: The Depth of the Problem

Corruption exists in every country of the world. In some places it is a minor nuisance that can barely be measured. In others, corruption is deeply rooted in every aspect of daily life. Sadly, the Philippines falls squarely into the second category. Business organizations and international surveys routinely rank the Philippines among the world's most corrupt countries. In fact, surveys such as Transparency International's "Corruption Perception Index" seem to show that the Philippines is getting steadily worse. Government's response to these reports typically starts with a declaration that they are "unfair" and that "we are doing our best". In practical terms though, statements like these and others like "we have the will" and "we are committed" are meaningless. The technical procedures for preventing corruption are simple and straight-forward, but they require stepping on high-placed toes, because many of those high-placed toes are involved, directly or indirectly, in corrupt activities. Despite arguments to the contrary, the inability of the government to control corruption is not a result of "we can't catch them". It's a result of "we're not really going after them".

The biggest challenge in any anti-corruption campaign in the Philippines is the system itself. Networks of business, social, and family relationships discourage even the authorities from making accusations against anyone with just a little power. A telephone call to a friend can stop an investigation against you or someone you know. Sometimes even that phone call isn't necessary, since the authorities may be hesitant to go after a person known to have connections. I'm not talking about "the authorities" as an institution. I'm talking about the individual people in government who actually make things work. There is a big difference between the two.

In fairness to the Philippine Government, there does seem to be a new attitude taking hold, driven by a flood of international reports and surveys which paint a very gloomy future for the country. The senior leadership, at least, seems to understand that the situation cannot continue as it is. A pretty intensive campaign against corruption is ongoing, and it seems to be reaching all the way to the lower levels, where the problem is most entrenched. The question is, will this just be another brushfire effort, which burns hot but burns out fast, or will we actually see some permanent change? Only time will tell.

A quick glance at the Philippines reveals a structure very similar to other governments around the world, with laws, regulations and safeguards enough to make the system run properly. But, on a day-to-day basis, the people who actually implement those procedures operate much more informally. This is exactly where government breaks down and a purely network-based organization takes over. This shadow structure defines both the implementation and the enforcement of Philippine Government processes, from the municipal to the national level. Regardless of the level, the reason this informal system thrives is simple. I've said it before: we routinely do not follow (or enforce!) laws, rules, regulations, or procedures. This situation is not unique to the Philippines, and in fact, many of the things I will describe here are characteristic of governments and government officials around the world. The differences between corruption in one country and corruption in another are differences of degree rather than design.

In addition, there is a common feeling among many government officials, a view which seems to be shared by many civilians as well, that profiting from corruption is not really wrong, and is in fact an entitlement of public office. A survey last year by the Asian Institute of Management reported that "...some executives already regard behavior or actions commonly perceived as wrong as 'wrong only sometimes.' Moreover, eight out of 100 executives believed it was not always wrong to do something that was inherently wrong, as long as it was for friendship, position, or seniority." [Business World, 6 July 04] Personally, I suspect that many of those who responded to the surveys were not completely truthful in their answers. I think the numbers are really much higher.

If this really is the general attitude, then it is unlikely that citizens, either in or out of government, will ever really join the fight against corruption until they believe that it is in their interest to do so. To change that mindset, it is necessary to personalize the effects of corruption, rather than simply trying to preach "This is right and this is wrong". Everyone agrees that corruption in general is a bad thing, but the specific practices that make up corruption are not always seen in such a bad light. It may be more effective to emphasize the harmful impact of those individual acts, by constantly exposing people to the ways that corruption affects them personally. The idea is to eventually make such behavior distasteful, and to then bring social pressure to bear on corrupt officials at all levels. Changing the way people view corruption must be the goal of a very long-term, but very necessary, public education campaign.

The statistics of corruption are reported all too often, but they bear repeating. According to the Manila-based group Procurement Watch, 1/5 of the national budget and 15% of the cost of all government contracts is lost to corruption every year. 1/5 of the national budget! Put another way, that means we lose an entire year's budget every 5 years. Granted, those figures are only estimates, and it's probably not possible to determine the actual amounts with any certainty, but whatever the numbers, the bottom line is this: Filipinos are stealing the food right out of the mouths of Filipinos. And let's make something absolutely clear, right from the beginning. These surveys and reports always use phrases like "lost to corruption" and "unaccounted for" as if money had just evaporated because someone forgot to put the lid on the bottle. The reality is, corruption is theft, plain and simple. When a citizen is asked to pay an additional "fee" to expedite his request for a government service, that money goes straight into the pocket of the clerk on the other side of the window. It's not a "service fee", no matter what he says. That government employee is a thief, and he has just stolen money from the citizen.

Corruption is not just an aspect of Philippine culture; it is entangled in the very fabric of daily life. The average Filipino, rich or poor, considers under-the-table payments to be a fact of life. The poor pay because they have no choice, constantly borrowing money to get through the red tape of life. The middle class and the wealthy also pay, because it's a convenient way to bypass bureaucracy and because it is the only way to compete with everyone else who pays. When dealing with Government, the customer finds obstacles and delays at every turn, leading him to look for an easier way through the process. Juan Dela Cruz (John Q. Public, for the American reader), faced with these seemingly unending bureaucratic roadblocks, will eventually start to think "there must be a way to cut through all this red tape!" And as soon as he asks that question, the clerk behind the counter offers the answer. In fact, much of the procedure and delay involved in obtaining any government service seems almost intentionally designed to encourage the customer to ask that very question. “Designed” may be the wrong word, but procedures have certainly been allowed to evolve in that direction.

These payments are not a rare occurrence. It is my opinion, based on countless conversations with Filipinos and foreigners alike, that the many surveys and statistics which describe the extent of corruption in the Philippines don't even scratch the surface of the problem. Not even the honest corruption-fighters want to admit just how deep it really goes.

Corruption exists at every level of society, in both the government and private sectors, at the national level and at the Barangay. In the world of government contracting, for example, the popular term is "SOP". Traditionally, that abbreviation stands for "Standard Operating Procedure", a term that describes something so commonly done that you don't even have to talk about it. In the Philippines, SOP means the kickback that a government official automatically requires before any contracted project under his jurisdiction can begin. The amount of this payment is typically 15 - 20% of the budget for the entire project, although it is sometimes much higher. SOP usually has to be paid up front and, depending on the size and scope of the project, the blessing of several officials may be needed. In cases like that, the 20% kickback is not always shared among the wolves. Rather, the winning company often has to pay each official separately, sometimes jacking up the total cost of the project by 60% or more. Those with government contracting experience already know the SOP of particular officials, so the subject never even has to be discussed. Hence the term "Standard Operating Procedure". We'll come back to this a bit later, but for now it's important to recognize the fact that corrupt activity is usually known to everyone, and protected with a wink and a nod.

The fact that most people don’t see anything wrong with corruption means that new laws or harsher penalties will not have a significant impact on the problem. The real answer lies in “corruption-proofing” the system, by implementing procedures that make it physically impossible to complete a corrupt act.

Conventional wisdom says that government must prosecute a few "big fish" if it wants to prove it is serious about fighting corruption. This is certainly true, from the all-important public relations angle. But it is also true that this is the one act government finds very difficult to do, for a variety of reasons. While I am not advocating letting the "big fish" get away, I do not believe they are at the heart of the problem. Corruption is tolerated at the top, and there is no doubt that those at the top benefit most, but the self-sustaining nature of the problem comes from the fact that it permeates all operations at the lower-levels. A permanent cure will only come when we clean up the system at the bottom. In fact, we do that by enforcing procedures, and by prosecuting violators of those procedures. Untouchable corrupt senior officials will find it much more difficult to steal government money if the junior employees below them are afraid to break the rules.

While there are certainly some officials who steal millions of pesos through corruption, the real problem is more like shoplifting in a local convenience store. On its own, each theft may be only a pack of candy or a bottle of perfume, and we may even feel sympathy for the "poor" rogue. But over a year, and across the entire chain of stores, those seemingly harmless thefts can add up to millions. That's why, in many countries, every shoplifter is prosecuted, even if they only took a pack of gum. This is exactly what is going on in the Philippines, and this is exactly how we have to solve the problem.