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| ON THE OTHER HAND |
| Most Corrupt Leaders By Antonio C. Abaya March 31, 2004 To be fair to everyone, the 2004 Global Corruption Report recently released by the Berlin-based (not UK-based, as per the Philippine Daily Inquirer, March 27) Transparency International (TI) should really be called Global Corruption Perception Report, since this was a ranking in the perception of corruption, not corruption itself. It is extremely difficult to come up with a hard quantification of corruption since, as far as I know, none of the alleged ten most corrupt leaders have been convicted in any court of law of the corruption that they are alleged to have committed in office. And none of them will ever admit that they stole or embezzled even one dollar. This is most evident in the estimates of funds that they are alleged to have stolen. Top-ranking President Suharto (not Ahmed Suharto; like many Indonesians, he has only one name) is said to have stolen or embezzled from $15 to 35 billion; second-ranking Ferdinand Marcos of the Philippines, from $5 to 10 billion; fourth-ranking Sani Abacha of Nigeria, from $2 to 5 billion; sixth-ranking Jean Claude Duvalier of Haiti, from $300 to 500 million; eighth-ranking Pavlo Lazarenko of the Ukraine, from $114 to 200 million; and tenth-ranking Joseph Estrada, from $78 to 80 million. In most of the cases above, the low and high estimates differ by more than 100%, which suggests that these are wild swings at the truth, which they may or may not squarely hit. That there are two Filipinos in the list has given this country a distinction of sorts and has led opposition leaders, including Presidential Contender Sen. Panfilo Lacson, to predict that there will soon be a third, meaning incumbent Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. Again, this is only perception, not proof, of corruption, as Lacson himself should know: his expose of �Jose Pidal� would not stand up in any court of law. Lacson accused �Jose Pidal�, whom he claims is Mike Arroyo, of laundering P160+ million in unspent contributions to the 1998 election campaign of Gloria Arroyo, in several bank accounts. But unspent political contributions are private, not government, money, which the Arroyos are free to do as they please. Tiresome and tireless Political Meddler Pastor Saycon, mentor and cousin-in-law of vp candidate Loren Legarda, claims he had documentary evidence that the controversial President Macapagal Highway in Metro Manila was overpriced by P600+ million and that that amount had been deposited to Pidal�s (Arroyo�s) accounts. He claims to have given the �evidence� to Manila�s Cardinal Sin and Cebu�s Cardinal Vidal, but neither cardinal has seen fit to make this �evidence� public, almost certainly because they did not find it credible. To be sure, Lacson and Saycon have created the perception of corruption, but they have not given any proof of it. That is what TI has been ranking every year, the perception, not necessarily the proof, of corruption. The same is true of the yearly rankings of the most corrupt countries in East Asia, monitored by the Hong Kong-based Political and Economic Risk Consultancy Ltd, or PERC. These are also rankings in the perception of corruption, not corruption itself. For the past 15 years or so, the Philippines has been ranked the fourth most corrupt country in East Asia, under the successive presidencies of Cory Aquino, Fidel Ramos, Joseph Estrada and Gloria Arroyo, not just of Arroyo. It seems that no matter who we elect to be our president, the country and its government retain their rock-solid reputation for corruption. The corollary to this is that no matter who is elected president in May, we will still be perceived to be corrupt. Unless he or she takes draconian measures. How draconian? Take the People�s Republic of China, or China, which used to be ranked by PERC as the most corrupt country in East Asia, ever since it embraced capitalism and the profit motive in the early 1980s. Sometime in the late 1990s, China dropped to fifth or sixth place, below the Philippines, where it has remained since. How did China solve its corruption problem? Public officials and Party cadres found guilty of corruption were shot with a single bullet to the head in public executions. How many of our presidential contenders would be willing to include that in their programs of government? Would the bleeding heart liberals in our liberal democracy approve? During the years when China was perceived to be the most corrupt country in East Asia, Indonesia was the consistent second-placer. During that time, too, China and Indonesia were drawing in more than 50% of the foreign direct investments that were pouring into this part of the world, (the Philippines only 3 to 6%), China registering phenomenal rates of growth of 12 to 14% per annum, with Suharto�s Indonesia chugging along at 6 to 7%. With China down to fifth or sixth place in the corruption sweepstakes, post-Suharto Indonesia has climbed up to be the most corrupt country in East Asia, followed by Vietnam and India. Although Indonesia is still reeling from the 1997Asian financial crisis and the political problems that followed, Vietnam and India (second and third most corrupt countries) are progressing quite well. Vietnam has been registering annual growth rates of 7 to 9%; India hit more than 10% in 2003. The Philippines, on the other hand, �only the fourth most corrupt�.has been muddling along at only 3 to 4.5% per annum for the past 15 years. The moral of this story is that corruption or the perception of corruption, by itself, is not a hindrance to economic growth, as the examples of China, Suharto�s Indonesia, Vietnam and India clearly show. What is more important is the adoption of correct economic strategies, foremost of which is making the country attractive to foreign investors. Especially foreign investors who set up manufacturing plants, IT centers or tourist facilities, not foreign investors who merely play the stock and real estate markets, which is what we have had more of, especially during the Ramos years. The Philippines is the least attractive investment area in this region, for various reasons: high energy costs, poor infrastructure, militancy by communist-led unions, rampant criminality, high security risks, recurrent political instability, and a Supreme Court that habitually nullifies contracts, usually at the instigation of losing bidders, even after most of the contracted goods or services have been delivered or rendered. Why would anyone plunk down his money here, when there are safer and more attractive alternatives around? With these handicaps, it is unlikely that this country will ever match the growth rates of its neighbors even if all its well-entrenched crooks were to view �The Passion of the Christ� and were inspired by the film to mend their corrupt ways. Unfortunately, not one of the five presidential contenders has come up with a plan to make the Philippines more attractive to foreign direct investors, while they all stumble over each other claiming that, if elected president, they will eliminate corruption, as if anyone believes them. Another six years of muddling along coming up. ***** The bulk of this article appears in the April 10, 2004 issue of the Philippines Free Press magazine. OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO Reactions to �Most Corrupt Leaders� Mr. Abaya, please continue to include me in your e mail list, I enjoy your articles, and believe in them. Robert Paradies, [email protected] April 05, 2004 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww dear sir, u specifically said ramos gvt 2b better w/ economic sitz. i blieve econoomist habito, frm ramos' govt s w/ presidentiable (economist) bro. eddie villanueva [hu incidentally s also a protestant like ramos]. can we not then b hopeful w/ this presidential candidate--hu s God-fearing, simple-living and a proven leader? joseph gannaban, [email protected] April 05, 2004 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww hear hear. china executes more than 2000 people a year. and most of the bodies( can not call them cadavers as they are still very warm.) are harvested for medical purposes. big time tycoons are jailed. movie stars are arrested for corruption. Angie was very open to this idea, but his time has come to pass. ( between us, I have known chinese government officials who have quit their posts when confronted with severe mismanagement. the alternate choice would have to be to be tried and join the 2000.) I hope to hear you whisper your choice on May 5. cheers Eros Kaw, [email protected] April 05, 2004 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Dear Mr. Abaya: Whether corruption is perceived or a reality, TI's report is probably based on the magnitude of corruption. I am not exactly certain as to their basis or the contents of rating countries or leaders, however, the Philippines has always been ranked in the top ten and this is not something to relish about. The future leaders running for elective offices in the country have a monumental task of easing corruption because completely eradicating it is next to impossible. Corruption is probably endemic in all countries but the perception, as you mentioned, is just more severe for some relative to the other countries. True, in your analysis, corruption affects investments, criminality and the overall atmosphere for decent people to find freedom and the pursuit of happiness. If there is to be a goal or a mission for our country, it is to be removed from the list of TI since it is a badge of infamy rather than of honor. Extricating our country from this list will lead to increased foreign investments, GNP growth surpassing that of our neighbors in the range of over 10% (a healthy increase to 3 to 4 %, as you reported) and an upheaval or resurrection of the decent values that have been inculcated in us by our elders. Corruption can be infectious and can come from the top filtering down to the lower rungs of government or businesses. Jay Bart, [email protected] April 05, 2004 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww (Through the CebuPolitics egroup) Corruption in the Philippines ? It's a way of life, like the words tong, lagay and put are the norm. Foreign investments will not materialize the way the government is running fiscally. Heavily in debt and can hardly meet their payments without having to borrow just to service the loan. And to think we have an economist in power. DUH ! Ray Eced, [email protected] April 05, 2004 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Amen. Amen. Proof of corruption is difficult to come by since the investigating authorities themselves are corrupt. Take PCGG. Mostly a bantay-salakay outfit. If they give estimates of graft they would be revealing their very own sources of a good life. So nothing very much happened except the Cinamen who readily capitulated by admitting they were dummies plus the publicly-owned corporations like San Miguel and Cocobank, which PCGG cannot hide but by prolongation of the litigation the PCGG and government nominees further their own good life. Still perceptions of corruption are indicative of the existence thereof. No one can deny that Suharto, Marcos and Ejestrada are looters par excellence. Ross Tipon, [email protected] April 06, 2004 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Tony, I'm not sure if you've read my two recent papers (attached herewith) on the next president, and what (s)he should do. But addressing corruption in a draconian way is at the top of the list. I like the "bullet to the head" approach and it would work - but we know it won't/can't be done. You are right it is perception that is "measured". But I've always worked on the promise that perception is based on reality. So whether the Philippines is fairly evaluated by TI as to reality doesn't matter too much. It uses the same criteria for all countries. So we know the Philippines has high levels of corruption, but maybe not how high. If Marcos stole US$ 5B, that exceeds the country's budget deficit. Why can't we find it, and get it? Surely that's sufficient reason for government to get its finger out, (something a call boy apparently objected to) - and act. Muddling, regrettably, is the best we'll do. Have a pleasant Easter. Cheers, Peter Wallace, [email protected] April 06, 2004 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww (Through the Talsik egroup) If we compute the alleged unaccounted government money during FVR's (1992-98) term I think he qualifyies in this category. $7B sale of the Fort Bonifacio P300M Amari-PEA scam Centenial Fund misuse in Clark Mt Pinatubo funds IPPs and other bigtime contracts with government guarantees Jueteng care of Armand Sanchez and Boy Saycon International Siimple Resale from PLDT etc. etc Where's the money? In a ranch in Texas? or in an aircraft spare parts company in California? Or with former Buget Secretary -Mr and Mrs Salvador Enriquez? Or with a socialite who owns various houses in Dasmarinas Village, Forbes Park being rented out to ranking foreign embassy employees? By the way what was found out in the investigation and inquiry conducted by Ex-Senator Saguisag and now SSS Chair Corazon de la Paz? They recommended for the prosecution of FVR. Most of these are documented in the book Christianity vs Corruption by Dr Miriam Defensor Santiago published in 2001. Bruno, [email protected] April 06, 2004 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Kuya Tony, It has been said that the most promising career is to be a politician, promises here and there remain unattended and ignored. Politics is the most lucrative business in our country, one invests 50 million pesos during the campaign trail and lo and behold! By the time a politician is done with his/her term, he/she already has amassed 200 million pesos or even more! It's totally a great way to do business huh? It's even better than IRAs, annuities, bonds, or even the stock market! It's the best retirement plan for the whole family ever! There are two kinds of corrupt politicians, the observable and the sneaky ones. Politicians will promulgate that he/she is an advocate of anti-corruption, but it is vainly a sinister plot to lure the people to voting them in office. It is very difficult to decipher the sincere ones from the hypocrites. Why don't legislators pass a law that will include corruption as a heinous crime and should be therefore subject to the death penalty? I wonder if this will be a successful deterrent to these public fund-sucking leeches? But it would definitely make them do a second look before taking a single centavo. Truly, Bong L. Sempio, [email protected] April 10, 2004 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Dear Tony: Your article on the "Most Corrupt Leaders" is very incisive and awakening. I hope TI make amends to the recklessness that caused some furor locally, as any righteous thinking person should do. Facts are verifiable, especially the cases are among available court records. They can check easily and not just pick up bits and pieces from the newspapers and/or news network coverages. The manner by which the table was put together smacks of transparency and accountability. Thank you for your enlightened discussion. Sincerely, Dolly L. Espa�ol, [email protected] Chairwoman, Philippine Chapter, Transparency International April 12, 2004 OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO |