RP corruption ‘wrong perception’

Friday, 10 October 2008 08:03 Thea Alberto/Inquirer.net

(0 votes, average: 0 out of 5)

MANILA - President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo said the image of the country as among the most corrupt in the world stems from a “wrong perception” she blamed on media but an economist said the experience of investors here shows graft is a reality in the Philippines.

Asked during a business round-table discussion by Charles Goddard, editorial director of Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), for her reaction to the findings of the anti-corruption watchdog Transparency International (TI), Arroyo replied: "Their basis is on what they read in the paper, it's a whole layering of perception."

In the TI’s latest Corruption Perceptions Index, the Philippines placed near the bottom, 141st of 180 countries surveyed.

Arroyo again blamed media for the negative image of the country, reiterating her earlier accusation that in the Philippine press, which she nevertheless acknowledged as the freest in Asia, "rumors and innuendos become facts" and later, newspaper headlines.

"That's part of what we should live with," she acknowledged.

Arroyo boasted of a conviction rate by the Office of the Ombudsman that "increased five-fold in the last few years," and the dismissal of officials found to have amassed unexplained wealth.

However, Justin Wood, director of the EIU’s Southeast Asia corporate network, said corruption in the Philippines is more than just perception, citing the experience of companies forced to make what he called "irregular payments."

"They [companies] are reluctant to report these cases to authorities because they feel there may be retribution. They may feel its going to limit their access to opportunities, resources, contract," Wood told reporters.

"She [Arroyo] made the right noises [about fighting corruption] but we need to see that sustained commitment to try to tackle these issues," he stressed.

Add this page to your favorite Social Bookmarking websites