Good governance: Just say "NO!" to wrongdoing

"Corruption, like rust, is corrosive. Preventing rust requires an eagle eye and regular preventive maintenance. Removing rust is more difficult requiring much more time than it takes to prevent, and aggressive expensive measures to restore to its original state."

By Rafael Alunan III
17 January 2013

Lately, there has been a series of damning headlines about the state of corruption in the country. For example, comparative import data of the IMF and BoC indicate huge disparities such that estimated losses to technical smuggling alone was P1.9-Trillion from 2002-2011. That excludes the losses from outright smuggling!

Then there was this news about a drug lab operating in a high-end condo in Global City; before that in a farm in Batangas; before that in a house in Ayala Alabang; before that in various places in Luzon, the Visayas and Mindanao. Reports of Mexican drug cartel collaboration with Chinese triads and Nigerian syndicates abound. It means we have porous gates, bad law enforcement, corrupt local government officials and a growing market of drug users.
 

Yesterday, it was reported that the perception index of corruption* was higher last year than the previous year, from 43% to 56%, which viewed it to be "a lot." Surveyed were around 1,000 enterprises that deal with national agencies and local governments. Notwithstanding exhortations for taking the "straight path" many in government continue to ignore presidential orders and the voice of the people.

Corruption, like rust, is corrosive. Preventing rust requires an eagle eye and regular preventive maintenance. Removing rust is more difficult requiring much more time than it takes to prevent, and aggressive expensive measures to restore to its original state.

That's what we have to do with the advanced state of corrosion we see in our state of governance and the state of the nation. We must take aggressive measures to clean house and restore it to a state of honor and respectability. This is not being done in a methodical and aggressive manner across-the-board and down-the-line. "Talk the talk" has not shifted to and gained traction as "walk the talk."

There's a simple formula to avoid/prevent wrongdoing and not add to our state of corrosion: Just Say NO!

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Rafael Alunan III served as Secretary of Tourism and as Secretary of Interior and Local Govt in the governments of President Cory Aquino and President Fidel Ramos successively. Mr Alunan, a regular contributor to this blog, is currently Convenor, West Philippine Sea Coalition and is also a member of the Philippine Sabah Claim Forum. The author has given his permission to publish this article on this blog.


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*Info: "According to the SWS, 42 percent said that “most/almost all” companies in their business sector had given bribes to win government contracts in 2013, practically unchanged from the record-low 41 percent in 2012. Forty-four percent said they were solicited for bribes when getting local and national permits or licenses, paying income taxes, complying with import regulations, supplying government with goods and services, collecting receivables from government and availing themselves of government incentives." (Credit: Data info  and SWS Poll chart sourced from http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/ with Research by Ana Roa.) Special thanks to J Chua. ~~ Blog Admin