JEB MICHAEL L.

PEÑA
3-BPL
PUBAD02

GRAND CORRUPTION:
A PERSPECTIVE OF A POLITICAL SCIENCE STUDENT

(1) Can the type of government of a country can save the country from sinking in the sea of
corruption?
(Is the type of government of a country has a significant impact in curbing corruption? Why or
why not?)
No. As long as government exist, corruption will persist. As long as corrupt officials are
sitting pretty in their public offices and doing their political circus acts rather than doing their
responsibilities, corruption will exist. Actually, corruption is something inevitable in a realistic
lens, though it can be control like the Sweden government that have a high score when it comes
to combatting corruption but it cannot be eradicated. The day we achieve a corruption-free
government is the day we reach the utopian era of mankind.
Government system does not simply impact the curbing corruption. It is the people and
the government officials that gives a significant effect when it comes to controlling corruption.
Democracy, where tyranny of the majority happens cannot saved a nation from corruption, in
fact, it was stated by the United Nation Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) last 2019 that
democracy alone does not guarantee effective control of corruption. For non-democratic country,
authoritarian systems, with monarchies and single-party systems tending to be less corrupt than a
military and personalistic countries led-government (Batalla, 2020). Henceforth, government
system does not significantly affect the curbing of corruption. It is the people that impacts it.
To justify that the type of government does not impact the curbing of corruption, the
author compares two democratic countries and two non-democratic states. The author used the
global freedom score by FreedomHouse.org to identify if the country is autocratic (Not Free) or
democratic (Free and Partly Free).
Global Freedom Corruption
Score Perception Index Rank
(CPI)
Democratic Nations
United States of America 83 (Free) 67 25th
Republic of Philippines 56 (Partly Free) 34 115th
Non-Democratic Nations
People’s Republic of China 9 (Not Free) 42 78th
Russia 20 (Not Free) 30 129th
 Figure 1. Comparison of Corruption Perception Index.
Source: Transparency.org, 2020 and FreedomHouse.org, 2020
On the scale of 100 as “very clean” and 0 as “highly corrupt”, the data from
Transparency.org provides strong evidence that type of government cannot simply change the
tide of war against corruption.
Philippines, a nation where the majority dictates the faith of the country have a score of
34 that paved the way toward 155th position among 180 participating countries. The land of the
free which is the United States of America scored 67 which makes them 25 th. Philippines and
United States of America is both democratic nations but their corruption perception index have a
huge difference. For non-democratic nations, People’s Republic of China acquired a score of 42.
Their score made them better when it comes to battling corruption rather than Russia which only
have a score of 30.
It cannot be easily concluded that there is a right type of government in order to
effectively combat corruption because if people are going to say that democracy is much better,
then how can an autocratic nation like China beat the Philippine’s CPI? For the right-wingers,
how can United States of America have outperformed both China and Russia in corruption
handling?
Henceforth, the author stands firmly to its claim that it depends to the people how they
will curb corruption. Type of government cannot be the life vest of a country when sailing
through the tides of corruption-infested sea of their politics and culture.
To further justify the claim, the author will analyze the grand corruption that happened
during the autocratic Marcos’s era (1966-1986) and the democratic administration of Gloria
Macapagal Arroyo (2001-2010) in the Philippines.
(2) Corruption and the involvement of people and government officials
(Enumerate and explain illegal, unethical, and inappropriate acts and practices ‘allegedly’
performed by both government officials and private individuals and/or corporations that
characterize or lead to corrupt practices.)
Philippines, a nation that experienced the iron fist of autocracy and the brightest days of
“democracy” is a nation that can be consider as corrupt if it will be going to be based on the CPI.
Corruption cannot be grand without the help of private individuals. The Bataan Nuclear Power
Plant (BNPP) and the NBN-ZTE corruption scandal are great example of grand corruption that
involved private individuals. Even though these two grand corruption scandals happened in
different type of government, it is amazing how corruption can still find a way to be successful.
 Bataan Nuclear Power Plant

(3) Good Governance Framework and Sound Fiscal Administration and Grand Corruption
(Manifest governance issues, from the perspective of both good governance framework and
sound public fiscal administration, involve in the two instances mentioned in the article.)
(4) The venues for massive corruption in the Philippine government
(What could have been Philippine political contexts that invite or are possible venues for the
proliferation of massive corrupt transactions in Philippine public governance? Explain
comprehensively.)
(5) Removing the fangs of corruption
(What reforms are needed to minimize, if not totally eradicate, grand corruption scandals to
happen in the future. Cite some specific and concrete reforms.)
Corruption cannot be removed completely but it can be controlled or minimized. So how
can that be possible? Especially in the Philippines where grand corruption have a lot of
opportunities to happen.

“Corruption can exist without the government but government cannot exist without corruption.”