MALAYA EDITORIAL: CORRUPTION, CULTURAL FLAW?
MANILA, MARCH 11, 2010 (MALAYA) (‘But corrupt acts are done by men, not by culture.’)PALACE propagandists have turned into amateur sociologists cum anthropologists in trying to dismiss the Philippines’ worsening standing among the most corrupt countries in Southeast Asia.
"Ang corruption, that is an old, old problem. It is a problem in our culture, di lang institutions, pati kultura natin sa pulitika at civic life," Gary Olivar, deputy presidential spokesman, said.
Yeah, yeah. There must be some genetic flaw in the Filipino that makes him an inveterate chiseler, demanding grease money for every service he is supposed to provide in the ordinary course of doing his job. Or if we go farther back in time, then we could probably blame Adam and Eve for having a taste of the forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden.
Then there is, of course, the old racist view that Asians are corrupt because of their culture that places the highest value on family and kinship ties. But that would not explain the ranking made by the Political and Economic Risk Consultancy of the most corrupt Asia-Pacific economies because two of the three least corrupt are Asian in culture (Singapore at the top, followed by Australia, which is Anglo-Saxon, and Hong Kong).
Culture could also not explain why the Philippines fell from No. 6 to No. 4 most corrupt. This indicates that corruption in some countries is easing while in our case it is worsening.
There is a simpler explanation, a universally held one, in fact, but which Malacañang refuses to acknowledge for obvious reasons.
Gloria Arroyo and her family are seen as big-time grafters and the rest of the people in government are tempted to do the same.
The aborted ZTE-NBN is the most documented among such corrupt deals. Former election chair Benjamin Abalos was thrown to the wolves to protect higher-placed principals. Arroyo’s claim of executive privilege stopped Senate investigators from following the trail all the way to the Palace door. The incoming administration, hopefully, will reopen the case and pursue it to its conclusion.
The Ombudsman, the constitutional office which is tasked to run after grafters in government, has been turned into a sick joke with the appointment of Merceditas Gutierrez, Mike Arroyo’s choice for the job. Gutierrez runs after the small fry. She has not filed a single case against any big fish, and certainly not against the whale that is her benefactor.
There is a culture of corruption, all right. But corrupt acts are done by men, not by culture. If government sends a few of these corrupt people to jail and throws the keys into the Pasig river, culture – ever so malleable – will see a transformation.
Chief News Editor: Sol Jose Vanzi
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