‘Radical progress’ noted in anticorruption drive

Fewer executives are witnessing corruption in the public sector and the proportion of those saying that companies in their own sectors are giving bribes fell between 2009 and 2012, marking “radical progress” in the fight against corruption.

These were among the findings of a preliminary report by Social Weather Stations (SWS) based on a survey of enterprises on corruption. The report was presented at the Second Integrity Summit.

“The most radical change is in the Office of the President,” SWS said in a statement released on Tuesday. Its net sincerity in fighting corruption improved from a “bad” -37 in 2009 to an “excellent” 81 in 2012.

SWS interviewed executives of 826 firms in Metro Manila, Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Metro Cebu, Metro Davao, Cagayan de Oro, Iligan, Metro Angeles and Metro Iloilo from July 16 to Sept. 14.

The survey found that 42 percent of executives saw “a lot” of corruption in the public sector in 2012, down from 64 percent in 2009.

The figure fell across all areas, most notably in Metro Manila, where it dropped from 70 percent in 2009 to 51 percent in 2012.

Those who said that “most/almost all” companies in their own sector gave bribes to win public sector contracts fell from 48 percent in 2009 to 41 percent in 2012, the lowest since 2000.

The percentage of those who had “personal knowledge of corruption happening in the last three months in their own sector” fell from 37 percent in 2009 to 32 percent in 2012, the lowest since 2006.

Asked to compare the present administration with the previous one, 71 percent of the executives said they saw “less corruption now” while 2 percent said they saw “more corruption now.”

Sincerity

The survey also rated 19 other government institutions for their “sincerity in fighting corruption.” SWS found 17 institutions with improved net sincerity ratings between 2009 and 2012.

The SWS considers net ratings of 70 and above as “excellent”; 50 to 69, “very good”; 30 to 49, “good”; 10 to 29, “moderate”; 9 to -9, “neutral”; -10 to -29, “poor”; -30 to -49, “bad”; -50 to -69, “very bad”; and -70 and below, “execrable.”

Two agencies improved their sincerity ratings from “good” to “very good”: the Department of Health (from 37 to 60) and the Department of Trade and Industry (from 38 to 59), SWS said.

Three institutions improved their ratings from “neutral” to “good”: the Department of Education (from zero in 2009 to 49 in 2012); the Senate (from -1 to 38); and the Office of the Ombudsman (from -8 to 38).

SWS said six institutions scored “moderate” ratings, and of these, four improved between 2009 and 2012: Sandiganbayan (from 8 to 27); Department of the Interior and Local Government (from -25 to 27); Department of Budget and Management (from -17 to 22); and Department of Transportation and Communication (from -30 to 10).

Other offices that scored “moderate” ratings were the city government (a drop from 35 to 24) and the Supreme Court (from 40 to 23).

The survey found three offices with “neutral” ratings: the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (from -34 to 1); House of Representatives (from -34 to -2); and the Philippine National Police (from -17 to -8).

‘Poor’ ratings

Meanwhile, four offices scored “poor” ratings in the survey: the Bureau of Internal Revenue (from -57 to -18); Department of Public Works and Highways (from -65 to -23); and Land Transportation Office (from -39 to -26).