St.

Albert the Great School

Malued, Dagupan City

PERFORMANCE TASK
IN
ENGLISH 10

A RESEARCH PAPER
PRESENTED TO

MRS. REALYN C. MEJIA

FEBRUARY 18, 2019

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 CORRUPTION IN THE PHILIPPINES

TABLE OF CONTENTS

I. INTRODUCTION

A. BACKGROUND OF CORRUPTION

II. THE RESEARCH

A. THE TYPES AND FORMS OF CORRUPTION

B. THE FACTORS THAT FACILITATE CORRUPTION

C. WAYS TO ERADICATE CORRUPTION

III. CONCLUSION
A. SUMMARY OF CORRUPTION

IV. REFERENCES/BIBLIOGRAPHY
A. SOURCES OF INFORMATION

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 CORRUPTION IN THE PHILIPPINES

I. INTRODUCTION

Corruption is one of the major social issues that our society faces today. According to

statistics, Philippines has been ranked as the 111th out of 180 most corrupted country as the result

of survey in 2017. (www.manilatimes.net) Corruption occurs in many ways like in school, in the

market and mostly in the government. Corruption shows in school in such ways like giving a

specific amount of money without knowing where does it goes. In short, there is no transparency.

Moreover, corruption in market occurs in a way that the vendors sell their products to customers

in a higher price without giving the right value and quality of the product. However, Corruption

is a problem that mainly arises in the interaction between government and the market economy

where the government itself must be considered endogenous. Therefore it is complex to handle

from a theoretical point of view. This difficulty is underlined by the fact that data are difficult to

gather, and, if available, data are often “soft”, unreliable and masked. Moreover, from an aid

organizations point of view the issue of anti-corruption may become diplomatically delicate

since at least some of the stakeholders who are handling the aid instruments in the partner

countries, are likely to be part of the problem.. In General, corruption is a form of dishonesty or

criminal activity undertaken by a person and organization entrusted by a position of authority,

often to acquire illicit benefit. (www.wikipedia.org) Corruption nowadays are rampant and

getting worse day by day and that’s the reason why the researcher tend to search for solution in

this everlasting issue that our country faces from the past decades up to the present. The

researcher also believes that corruption is the main reason why many Filipinos suffer from

poverty, hunger and death.

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The research aims to address the following questions.

Specifically it asks:

A. What are the types and forms of corruption?

B. What are the factors that facilitate corruption?

C. How can we eradicate corruption in the Philippines?

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II. THE RESEARCH

A. THE TYPES AND FORMS OF CORRUPTION

A recent study has characterized some main forms or manifestations of corruption, according to

a number of basic characteristics (Amundsen 1999). The main forms considered are bribery,

embezzlement, fraud and extortion. Even when these concepts are partly overlapping and at

times interchangeable with other concepts, they may identify some basic varieties of corruption

a. “Bribery” is the payment (in money or kind) that is given or taken in a corrupt

relationship. To pay or receive a bribe is corruption per se, and should be understood as the

essence of corruption. A bribe is a fixed sum, a certain percentage of a contract, or any other

favor in money of kind, usually paid to a state official who can make contracts on behalf of the

state or otherwise distribute benefits to companies or individuals, businessmen and clients.

There are many equivalent terms to bribery, like kickbacks, gratuities, “commercial

arrangements”, baksheesh, sweeteners, pay-offs, speed- and grease money, which are all notions

of corruption in terms of the money or favors paid to employees in private enterprises, public

officials, and politicians. These are payments or returns needed or demanded to make things pass

swifter, smoother or more favorably through the state or government bureaucracies. By “greasing

palms” corporations and business interests can for instance buy political favors and escape the

full burden of taxation and environmental regulations, they can buy protected markets and

monopolies, import/export licenses and quotas, and get access to large state contracts on capital

goods, on-going supplies, major civil engineering projects, construction works, and so on.

b. “Embezzlement” is theft of resources by people who are put to administer it; it is when

disloyal employees steal from their employers. This is a serious offence when public officials are

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misappropriating public resources, when state official steals from the public institution in which

he or she is employed and from resources he is supposed to administer on behalf of the public.

Embezzlement is not considered as corruption from a strict legal point of view, but is included in

the broader definitions. In legal terms, corruption is a transaction between two individuals, one

state agent and one “civilian”, where the state agent goes beyond the limits of the law and

regulations in order to secure himself a personal benefit in the form of a bribe. Embezzlement is

regarded as theft because it does not involve the “civilian” side directly. The general public is

deprived when public funds are embezzled, but no individual property is stolen and individual

citizens are bereft of legal rights to present themselves as forfeited. This points to one of the

dangers of embezzlement. There will have to be a political will as well as an independent

judiciary and a legal capacity to clamp down on embezzlement. Embezzlement is a form of

corruption and power abuse that can develop in closed institutional and moral spheres,

independently of the public moral and with few possibilities of public sanction. In many

thoroughly corrupt countries, embezzlement is a fundamental part of the resource extractive

capacity of a ruling elite, even more important than extraction through bribes.

c. “Straddling”, the process by which some power-holders systematically use their political

office to enter into, secure and expand their private business interests, should be regarded as

another form of embezzlement. In some countries the political elite has nationalized foreign

businesses, property and monopoly rights, and redistributed these to the members of the ruling

families.

d. “Fraud” is an economic crime that involves some kind of trickery, swindle or deceit.

Fraud involves a manipulation or distortion of information, facts and expertise, by public

officials positioned between politicians and citizens, who seeks to draw a private profit. Fraud is

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when a public official (agent), who is responsible for carrying out the orders or tasks assigned by

his superiors (principal), manipulates the flow of information to his private profit; hence the

widely used principal-agent or incentive theory employed by economists to study this

phenomenon (Eskeland and Thiele 1999; Fjeldstad 1999). Fraud is also a broader legal and

popular term that covers more than bribery and embezzlement. It is fraud for instance when state

agencies and state representatives are engaged in illegal trade networks, counterfeit and

racketing, and when forgery, smuggling and other organized economic crime is propped up by

“official” sanction and/or involvement. It is fraud when politicians and state agents take a share

for closing their eyes on economic crimes, and it is serious fraud when they have an active role

in it.

e. “Extortion” is money and other resources extracted by the use of coercion, violence or

the threats to use force. Blackmailing and extortion are corrupt transactions where money is

violently extracted by those who have the power to do it, but where very little is returned to the

clients (perhaps only some vague promises of exception from further harassment).

f. “Protection” or “security” money can be extorted in the classical, well-known mafia

style, where organized criminals use insecurity, harassment and intimidation to extort money

from individual citizens, private businesses and public officials. Corruption in the form of

extortion is usually understood as a form of extraction “from below”, by mafias and criminals.

Corrupt practices of this kind can, however, also be “from above”, when the state itself is the

biggest mafia of them all. This is for instance when the state, and in particular its security

services and paramilitary groups, extorts money from individuals, groups and businesses. With

more or less concealed threats, taxes, fees and other resources are extracted from travellers,

market vendors, transporters and other private sector businesses. Furthermore, various state

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officials may extract “under the table” fees and “gifts” from individual citizens as they approach

the state as clients, customers, patients, school children etc. These practices may be interpreted as

“informal” forms taxation.

g. “Favoritism” is a mechanism of power abuse implying “privatisation” and a highly

biased distribution of state resources, no matter how these resources have been accumulated in

the first place. Favoritism is the natural human proclivity to favor friends, family and anybody

close and trusted. Favoritism is closely related to corruption insofar as it implies a corrupted

(undemocratic, “privatized”) distribution of resources. In other words, this is the other side of the

coin where corruption is the accumulation of resources.

Favoritism is the penchant of state officials and politicians, who have access to state resources

and the power to decide upon the distribution of these, to give preferential treatment to certain

people. Clientelist favoritism is the rather everyday proclivity of most people to favor his own

kin (family, clan, tribe, ethnic, religious or regional group). Favoritism or cronyism is for

instance to grant an office to a friend or a relative, regardless of merit. Favoritism is a basic

political mechanism in many authoritarian and semi-democratic countries. In most non-

democratic systems, the president has for instance the constitutional right to appoint all high-

ranking positions, a legal or customary right that exceedingly extends the possibilities for

favoritism

h. “Nepotism” is a special form of favoritism, in which an office holder (ruler) prefers his

proper kinfolk and family members (wife, brothers and sisters, children, nephews, cousins, in-

laws etc.). Many unrestricted presidents have tried to secure their (precarious) power position by

nominating family members to key political, economic and military/security positions in the state

apparatus. (www.business-anti-corruption.com)

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 B. THE FACTORS THAT FACILITATE CORRUPTION

Republic Act No. 3019 (The Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act) is the main anti-corruption

law. It enumerates certain acts of public officers that constitute graft or corrupt practices, or

which may lead thereto, as follows:

 Persuading, inducing or influencing another public officer to perform an act constituting

a violation of rules, or an offense in connection with official duties

 Requesting or receiving any gift, present, share, percentage or benefit, for himself or for

any other person, in connection with any contract or transaction between the government

and any other party, wherein the public officer in his official capacity has to intervene

under the law

 Requesting or receiving any gift, present or other pecuniary or material benefit, from any

person for whom the public officer has secured or obtained, or will secure or obtain, any

government permit or license

 Accepting or having any member of his family accept employment in a private enterprise

that has pending official business with him, during the pendency thereof or within one

year after its termination

 Causing any undue injury to any party, including the government, or giving any private

party any unwarranted benefits, advantage or preference in the discharge of his functions

through manifest partiality, evident bad faith or gross inexcusable negligence

 Neglecting or refusing to act within a reasonable time on any matter pending before him

for the purpose of obtaining some pecuniary or material benefit or advantage, or for the

purpose of favoring his own interest or giving undue advantage in favor of or

discriminating against any other interested party

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  Entering, on behalf of the government, into any contract or transaction manifestly and

grossly disadvantageous to the same, whether or not the public officer profited or will

profit thereby

 Having financial or pecuniary interest in any business, contract or transaction in

connection with which he intervenes or takes part in his official capacity, or in which he

is prohibited from having any interest

 Becoming interested, for personal gain, or having a material interest in any transaction or

act requiring the approval of a board, panel or group of which he is a member, even if he

votes against the same or does not participate in the action of the board, committee, panel

or group

 Knowingly approving or granting any license, permit, privilege or benefit in favor of any

person not qualified

 Divulging to unauthorized persons valuable information of a confidential character

acquired by his office or by him on account of his official position, or releasing such

information in advance of its authorized release date (globalcompliancenews.com)

C. WAYS TO ERADICATE CORRUPTION

a. Stop corruption of public information. Corruption in the government would be minimized

if there will be transparency and fairness in our public reports and records. The Freedom of

Information Act (FOI) must be enacted and be implemented now. Also, the Commission on

Audit (COA) should do their job to ensure that the financial records and reports of all

government agencies are fairly stated.

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b. Stop corruption of health and nutrition. If people have a healthy mind, body, and tummy,

they would have better ways of thinking and living. But with an empty stomach and having a

sick family member who cannot afford a doctor, a person could resort to committing a crime.

Therefore, our government should focus on laws and programs that address our basic health

and food requirement, especially the need of the poor people.

c. Stop corruption of education. The lack of knowledge can narrow people’s decisions.

Hence, our government should intensify education in our country for all levels. We also

have to provide technical, entrepreneurial, and financial literacy. If we know more, we can

think more, and we can do better.

d. Stop corruption of our laborers. There should be an adequate wage hike for all workers,

whether they are in the public or in the private sector. If workers have enough salary, fraud

and corruption can be minimized, especially in the government offices.

e. Stop corruption of peace. More policemen and soldiers should be recruited to keep peace

and harmony in all the corners of our nation. The government should also strengthen its

campaign for peace in Mindanao. Furthermore, we have to make a firm stand and protect our

country from international threats.

f. Stop corruption of morality. We have to protect the young ones from corrupting their

minds. There should be strict regulations on media. The MTRCB should do their best to keep

away our children from inappropriate materials on TVs or on the Internet.

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g. Stop corruption of our natural resources. The DENR, Department of Tourism, local

government units, private companies, and all of us should help each other in protecting our

environment. Our government should implement more laws and programs to strictly protect

our natural resources.

h. Stop corruption of our national heritage. We should honor and not forget what our

ancestors did to us. We should always remember the patriotism and sacrifices made by our

heroes in the past just to let us enjoy our freedom now. We should follow their loyalty and

nationalism, and condemn treachery.

i. Stop corruption in the churches. Religious organizations are supposed to practice charity.

They are supposed to teach people how to live a holy and uncorrupted life. But are they

really doing that? Hence, we have to require all religious organizations in the country to be

registered and regulated. They should all be monitored if they are really practicing charity

and holiness.

j. Stop corruption at home. Parents play a vital role in forming the personalities of their

children when they grow up. Thus, the government, through DSWD, should ensure that there

will be no children who will be abused at home. The government should also implement

intensive programs that will teach couples to be more responsible parents.

k. Stop corruption of law and justice. Everyone should respect the law, whether it’s about

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 plunder, theft, murder, or simply jaywalking. There are many corrupt people in our country

because there are many Filipinos who don’t honor our law. Whether the law offender is a top

government official or an ordinary citizen, there should be no exemption – if someone is

guilty, then he or she must go to jail if that’s the punishment.

l. Stop corruption of your vote. Finally, if we want to stop corrupt political leaders in our

country, we must stop from making corrupted votes. A single corrupted vote can give birth

to a corrupt leader. Therefore, we have to protect our vote from any corruption. We have to

protect it from ignorance and the lust for money. (www.businesstips.ph)

III. CONCLUSION

Corruption may occur in different ways like in school, government, in the market etc. There

are types and forms of corruption such as Bribery, Embezzlement, Straddling, Fraud,

Extortion, Favoritism, Nepotism, etc. There are some factors that facilitate corruption like

Persuading, inducing or influencing another public officer , Requesting or receiving any gift,

becoming interested for personal gain and entering, on behalf of the government into any

contract or transaction etc. The researcher also believes that there are ways to eradicate

corruption such as being transparent, good thinking ability, wise voting ability etc.

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IV. REFERENCES/BIBLIOGRAPHY

(www.manilatimes.net)

(www.wikipedia.org)

(www.icac.nsw.gov.au)

(www.business-anti-corruption.com)

(www.globalcompliancenews.com)

(www.businesstips.ph)

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