Kezia Theresse D.

Mordeno
Engr. SYLVIA E. PAMA, REA, REB, EnP

CURRENT PROBLEMS IN THE PHILIPPINE ADMINISTRATIVE SYSTEM

CORRUPTION

In every administration, corruption is ever present. It would be hypocrite to speak if

someone denies of this fact. Corruption in the government is a real issue that the Philippines is
experiencing today. Both the local and national governments are plague with cases of graft and
corruption. It is no surprise to hear news reports of plundering of funds, the most famous case
being the misuse of the Priority Development Assistant Funds or more known as the “pork
barrel” scam. The Filipino masses have a right to feel distrust towards the government. It is
crucial to understand the root cause of corruption in the Philippine government.
But how do we combat corruption?
Unfortunately, we can never totally erase corruption in our government. It has been
part of the system and others have made it into a norm. Corruption, poverty, illicit finance and
bribery tend to go hand in hand. But we can minimize it. How? This is a big challenge not only
for the administration but to every public servant.
Where there is political will, there is a way
Fighting corruption requires political will to create strong fiscal institutions that promote
integrity and accountability throughout the public sector our country to help them build
effective institutions that curb vulnerabilities to corruption:
Invest in high levels of transparency and independent external scrutiny. This allows
audit agencies and the public at large to provide effective oversight. We can make an online
platform that allows citizens to monitor the physical and financial progress of investment
projects. Our analysis also shows that a free press enhances the benefits of fiscal transparency.
 Reform institutions. The chances for success are greater when countries design reforms
to tackle corruption from all angles. For example, reforms to tax administration will have a
greater payoff if tax laws are simpler and they reduce officials’ scope for discretion.
Build a professional civil service. Transparent, merit-based hiring and pay reduce the
opportunities for corruption. The heads of agencies, ministries, and public enterprises must
promote ethical behavior by setting a clear tone at the top.

Keep pace with new challenges as technology and opportunities for wrongdoing
evolve. Focus on areas of higher risk—such as procurement, revenue administration, and
management of natural resources—as well as effective internal controls. In Chile and Korea, for
example, electronic procurement systems have been powerful tools to curtail corruption by
promoting transparency and improving competition.
Curbing corruption is a challenge that requires persevering on many fronts, but one that
pays huge dividends. It starts with political will, continuously strengthening institutions to
promote integrity and accountability, and global cooperation.
PADRINO SYSTEM
Nepotism is the act of giving favor to a relative or a close person to acquire a certain
position in an institution. In the Philippines, it is called as “Palakasan System”. This Palakasan
System was long been practiced by the Filipino people throughout the history and the
development of the modern Pilipino society. This practice had penetrated to the culture of the
Pilipino people in dealing with the employing system of the country. In some instance, some
people called it as the Backer system in which, someone has to support you in attaining and
applying a position. The Palakasan system continued to be practice by the Pilipino people until
this days’.
In terms of social effects of padrino system. Padrino system is a habit that’s been part of
our culture. Even though padrino system is unfair, there are situations that padrino system will
prevail but not to the extent that this privilege will be used until it is abused. In the culture of
the Filipino, family and friends ties are important because of the culture. So basically padrino
system is a habit that cant be removed by the government. The thing is with padrino system
who abuses it is that they disregard the qualifications of deserving individuals just to please
their connections. The effect of it in the social aspects is that because the government is open
or somehow not discrete in padrino system. Many people outside the system will have a
mindset that these people “padrino” can be easily be bribe thorugh connections. That can be
abused to the extent using this as a tool for corruption

Socially, the gap between the rich and the poor keeps getting wider and there are only a
number of ways the people react to this. They can either act against it, stay detached, or worse,
they adapt to the mindset “If you can’t beat them, join them.” That happens when the issue
continues and people begin to see it as inescapable and deem it as a way of surviving. For the
poor, they will see it as an opportunity to profit from the situation and use the rich’s greed to
their advantage. For the rich, they will want to be competitive. If everyone else is getting ahead
by using their connections and engaging in illegal activities, they will start to consider doing the
same just so they don’t get left behind and be “poor” later on.
 All in all, the Padrino System brings no good to our country and should be stopped. But
how?
In 2013, the late Miriam Defensor Santiago proposed the Anti-Padrino Bill. Santiago’s
bill imposes a P30,000 fine or a one-year jail term on officials who commit “acts of making and
soliciting political recommendations from any public official or employee.”
“Passing this bill into law will strengthen our bureaucracy by granting the appointing
agencies their rightful discretion over the appointment, promotion, assignment, transfer or
designation of their employees,” she said.
Sadly, the bill was never enacted into law. According to its legislative history on the
Senate's website, the proposed Anti-Political Recommendations Act never reached the second
reading.
The padrino system has long been linked with corruption within our government and
political system. In the present administration's efforts to curb corruption, may be it is time to
revisit this proposed bill by the late senator.
If we get rid of the padrino system or criminalize this practice, maybe we can improve
the current state of our government.
But are there ways to minimize this system? Yes. Our government must hire employees
based on qualifications and credentials and not on influences. This might not be automatically
feasible but small change can make a difference. If we rid of the padrino system or criminalize
this practice, maybe we can improve the current state of our government.
POLITICAL DYNASTY
A political dynasty emerges when an incumbent elected official has at least one relative
in elected office in the past or the present government. In the Philippines, for example, political
dynasties comprise over 70% of its Congress. The impact of political dynasties on
socioeconomic outcomes such as poverty is however an empirical question. Do political
dynasties exacerbate poverty?
The literature maintains that political dynasties (at, say, the local government level)
could lead to a deterioration of political competition because of the concentration of political
power. This, in turn, could bring about poorer socioeconomic outcomes. There are several
reasons that support such view. For instance, political dynasties can intrude in the way
information is transmitted from the people to the government. Tremendous reserves of
political, social, and economic capital could
deter most individuals more attuned to the needs of the citizenry from running for elected
posts.
Political dynasties can also weaken existing governance and accountability mechanisms
in order to secure their positions. They can take advantage of state power for self-serving
interests without fear of replacement or administrative sanctions. They can also use state
power to influence the selection of political leaders, thereby favoring individuals (who are often
relatives) and preventing the best and the brightest from serving in the government, as well as
biasing policies in favor of certain elite groups and interests. This concentration of power by the
political dynasties produces a non-competitive political system and, in some cases, underpins
the restraints, if not the mechanisms for reversals, on growth- and equity-enhancing as well as
poverty-reducing reforms.
These dynasties are so entrenched in our political system that they corrupt the
democratic process. They exclude others from having an equal opportunity to run for public
office. Political dynasties undermine the principle of political equality, and as a consequence,
the concentration of political power in the hands of a few families limits the liberating potential
of the democratic process.
 The current Philippine Constitution prohibits the establishment of political dynasties,
and some members of Congress have proposed legislation that will implement this prohibition.
But until such law is passed by Congress, a scenario that will not likely see the light of day, we
need to develop alternatives for the people to harness their participation and inclusion in the
political process.
FIFTY MILLION PESOS SEAGAMES CAULDRON

Few people are questioning the P4.48 million paid to the late National Artist Francisco
Mañosa for his design of an iconic cauldron for the 30th Southeast Asian Games. Whether the
P13.4 million for the 50-meter-high SEAG cauldron base plus P32 million for construction work
are reasonable, however, will have to be determined by the Commission on Audit – and
possibly the Office of the Ombudsman and the Sandiganbayan at some point.
Those behind the construction of the cauldron and the entire New Clark City Sports
Complex, the principal venue for the SEA Games, will also have to contend with the lament of
certain members of the Philippine athletic team, who questioned the government’s priorities.
Philippine athletes have long lamented the limited funding for their training, which must
be intensive and prolonged and therefore costly. The training must be supported by sufficient
resources for developing world-class athletes, including proper nutrition, apparel and special
equipment for each particular sport. The private sector has chipped in heavily in sports
development, but the government must take the lead in identifying, training and deploying
athletes who can bring top honors to the country.
The only loophole on this issue is the transparency on the breakdown of the budget
proposal on this cauldron. I am not against spending that amount of money since it is the
symbol of the Seagames held in the Philippines. This will bring pride to the country for hosting
such event. Since we are promoting transparency and accountability of government
transactions, this should be practice in this matter. Since we are promoting transparency and
accountability of government transactions, this should be practice in this matter.
POLIO OUTBREAK IN THE PHILIPPINES

On 19 September 2019, the Philippines declared an outbreak of polio. Two cases have been
reported to date, both caused by vaccine-derived poliovirus type 2 (VDPV2). Environmental
samples taken from sewage in Manila on 13 August and a waterway in Davao on 22 August
have also tested positive for VDPV2.

The first case was confirmed on 14 September following testing by the National Polio
Laboratory at the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine, the Japan National Institute of
Infectious Diseases (NIID) and the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
(CDC). The case-patient is a 3-year-old girl from Lanao del Sur in the southern Philippines. The
virus isolated is genetically linked to VDPV2 previously isolated from environmental samples in
Manila and Davao. This indicates that the virus is circulating.

The second case was confirmed on 19 September and is a 5-year-old boy from Laguna Province,
approximately 100 km south-east of Metro Manila. Investigations and further characterization
of the virus are ongoing.

In addition, VDPV1 has also been isolated from environmental samples collected on 1 July, 22
July, 13 August, and 27 August from Manila.

Vaccine-derived polioviruses are rarely occurring forms of the poliovirus that have genetically
changed from the attenuated (weakened) virus contained in oral polio vaccine. They only occur
when the vaccine virus is allowed to pass from person to person for a long time, which can only
happen in places with limited immunization coverage and inadequate sanitation and hygiene.
Over time, as it is passed between unimmunized people, it can regain the ability to cause
disease. When the population is fully immunized with both oral polio vaccine and inactivated
polio vaccine, this kind of transmission cannot take place. The gut immunity in people
immunized with oral polio vaccine stops the virus from being passed on. Full immunization
therefore protects against both vaccine-derived and wild polio viruses.
Prior to the declaration of the outbreak, the Department of Health and its partners launched a
polio immunization campaign in the City of Manila. Further mass polio immunization rounds
will be rolled out from October 2019.
The Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) is supporting the Philippine Government’s
response, providing technical advice, on-the-ground monitoring and risk communication. The
GPEI is a public-private partnership led by national governments with five partners – WHO,
Rotary International, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), UNICEF, and the
Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Its goal is to eradicate polio worldwide.
WHO and UNICEF should urge local governments to ensure that vaccination campaigns
are planned and implemented effectively. Every community leader, religious leader and
celebrity must mobilize their communities to participate in immunization activities. Parents and
caregivers should be advised that the best protection for their children is vaccination. It takes
multiple doses of polio vaccine to achieve full immunity against polio.