CORAZON AQUINO: "CORRUPTION IS OUR CANCER" Speech delivered during the Combatting Corruption Conference on September 21, 2004 Let me start by congratulating the Makati Business Club; the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines and its social action arm, NASSA; the Coalition of Development NGOs; the National Citizens Movement for Free Elections; Bishops-Businessmen’s Conference, and the Transparency and Accountability Network for starting this movement today. This Coalition Against Corruption is a movement whose time has finally come. It is a movement which I wish we had all started with great fervor many, many years ago. Corruption has become our cancer. Left untreated for so long, it has grown like a tumor spreading through the body of our society and tearing at and eating away the muscle and tissue of a nation. Left unattended, it has spread to the far reaches of our country, directly and indirectly affecting many sectors of society, regardless of age and religion, social status or gender. And whether one is directly participating in it and involved in its machinations or one is merely victimized by its effects, it has become a blight on us all. The treatment of cancer requires radical procedures and drastic changes in lifestyle. It starts with early detection. Just as small tumors grow to larger ones, little and early indiscretions have a nasty habit of becoming bigger scandals in the future. Unless identified and excised at an early stage, corruption too will grow until it has become so embedded in a system that its removal becomes a threat to the very system it feeds on. Beyond its initial removal, its treatment requires medication and attention to prevent its return and spread. It requires constant monitoring and screening to check for its return. For many patients, this becomes a way of life, a routine difficult to accept at first but acceptable nonetheless in the face of alternatives. It requires patience and commitment and, above all, discipline, to live these changes on a daily basis. This is the way we must treat the cancer that is corruption. We must engage in early detection. No infraction should be considered too small or too early to be insignificant. The petty briber today may be tomorrow’s influence-peddler. The cutthroat entrepreneur who cuts corners and bends rules today may be tomorrow’s tax evader. Today’s minor infraction at the street comer or curbside may be tomorrow’s case of grand larceny. After detection, we must move quickly to isolate and remove the source of cancer. Infractions should be penalized appropriately and immediately, regardless of one’s status in life. Beyond criminal charges, there should be administrative means to deal with this disease in the public and private sector to arrest its growth, isolate it, and stamp it out. But beyond all of that, we should exercise our common-sense and our old-world sense of community and national values to ostracize instead of lionize those who have made a success of themselves through corrupt practices. We need to regain and re-learn the good, old-fashioned ethics of hard work, honesty, and integrity to succeed in life rather than practice the ethics of lagay to get ahead. We need to recapture the sense of pride in an honest day’s work and defeat the notion that success can come only to the corrupt. We need to believe once again - and practice - not the corrupted values of tax evasion, price-padding, and under delivery of public goods, but the Filipino values of honesty, industry, and community. These were the values I am sure we were all taught as children by our parents, teachers, Church, and elders. Even after’ early detection and removal, constant screening and monitoring is necessary because corruption, like cancer, may come back and attack a different organ. This requires discipline and persistence, something we Filipinos are not always good at. While we are said to be at our best in moments of crisis, our passion, fervor, and commitment are not always maintained at peak levels- when situations become less critical. Yet it is at those moments when our vigilance drops that corruption returns to attack us all once again. We cannot live constantly in a state of crisis just as we should not awaken only from crisis to crisis. Instead, we need to maintain constant vigilance with periodic and systematic checks to see how our vital signs are performing. To do this, we will need to shift our paradigm of time and sense of urgency from crisis management to proactive preventive care. We will need to redefine our notion of People Power. I have believed in People Power for a long time, not simply in its political dimension as we have seen it exercised but in its social and economic dimensions as I continue to see it carried out on a daily basis by people and organizations. It is a power harnessed by people pulling in one direction, with a common vision and common goal. It is a power built by the accumulation of many small efforts which add up to a sum far greater than the total of its parts. And it is a power which takes a life of its own and becomes larger than you and me. It is a legacy. It is a beacon which I hope future generations will look to for guidance and direction. But like all beacons, it needs to be re-energized from time to time so people get the sense of revisiting and reliving its original meaning. Like the Olympic torch which is passed from person to person across boundaries of race and religion, we too must pass our torch and touch others so that we all eventually share a common value of what we want this country to be. Our torch is People Power and our battle is corruption. For the last several years, I have personally witnessed how People Power has transformed people’s lives and united communities through the quest for the common good. Through the People Power People Movement which I launched last year on the 20th death anniversary of Ninoy, I have seen how people banding together can channel their energies and bring about change against all odds. Discipline, cooperation, and belief in themselves and their vision were their common hallmarks. Today, I salute all of you for coming together and joining forces to exercise People Power against one of the greatest social ills of our time - corruption. Your move is timely for many of our people have become more cynical about governance and about nationhood. Let us just bear in mind that every movement for fundamental change can only prosper if it begins with the self. Over a century ago, our esteemed heroes emphasized the need for kalinisan ng loob (purity of self) in every patriot for the emergent Filipino nation to earn their redemption as a free people. Today, let us demand of ourselves no lower standard. The roots of corruption run deep, for the scourge is embedded in our culture. Unfortunately, before we Filipinos were introduced to democracy, a warped colonial upbringing ingrained in us the concept of government as a means to enrich oneself and to dispense patronage. We have to change the paradigm. Before looking elsewhere, let us make sure that we pay the correct taxes and that we are above board in all our dealings and actions. That would give us the moral right to demand from government transparency, accountability and the political will to prosecute tax evaders, smugglers and those who disgrace public service. Falling short of these, we risk further loss of faith in public institutions, deeper erosion of values, and the exacerbation of the cynicism, despair and mutual distrust that shackle our nation. That would mean resigning ourselves, tragically, to corruption as a way of life. Such is the magnitude of your mission, and I urge you to steel yourselves for the long battle ahead. Your challenge will be to keep the beacon lit, to pass the torch across sectors and through generations to show that there are people who still care about this country to stand up and do something about it. Your challenge will be to enlarge your group beyond your already formidable alliance because this battle will be won only by the positive energy of a critical mass pitted against the numbers who either benefit from corruption or are merely resigned to it. As in all genuine People Power phenomena, I believe the combination of the just cause and public support will win when powered by discipline, passion, commitment, cooperation, and trust and faith in each other. In carrying out your mission, you will be hit by many detractors, some of them may even be your friends. They may say that your projects aren’t big enough or bold enough. They may say you are too naive. They may say nothing can be done. Listen politely but do not let them discourage you. The power of People Power is the accumulation of small, seemingly insignificant victories; fought on many fronts, until it forms a pattern, eventually a habit, and ultimately a value for all to share and cherish. The battle against corruption will not be won overnight or by a single case. It will be won through constant vigilance and the courage to do what is right. Fight the right battles, analyze the defeats, and celebrate all your victories so people will know that they are not alone in the war against corruption. I am proud to stand with you in your courageous battle, and I call on all concerned Filipinos to give of their time, their talent, and their resources and be part of this, our coalition and our crusade against corruption! I have no doubt that, as a united People, we will prevail! Thank you. ______________________________ THE STATUS OF COMBATING CORRUPTION IN THE PHILIPPINES By Simeon V. Marcelo, Ombudsman May, 2005 (Extract)   It is evident, therefore, that two (2) primary things should be done: First, the government must invest massive resources in anti-corruption initiatives. Its current budgetary support to anti-corruption initiatives must not only be sustained, but also increase steadily and drastically, and snow-ball as more inroads are made against graft and corruption. As earlier discussed, the "lock opener", in our currently difficult situation, and carefully considering the "limits and possibilities of governance in the country", is simply a massive re-channeling of focus, priority and resources to anti-corruption reform initiatives. It must be stressed, however, that while there has been a substantial increase in the Office’s 2005 Budget, i.e., about P140 Million, the foregoing discussion inevitably leads to the conclusion that much more is needed. Hong Kong ICAC’s annual budget of about $90 Million or P4.94 Billion easily comes to mind. Re-channeling of resources should also include the enactment of legislative reforms in the Sandiganbayan enumerated earlier. Indeed, as already observed, the initial partnership between the government and the private sector had proven very effective and fruitful. From this collaboration, more graft and corruption can be unearthed and more cases are expected to be filed. This progress must, however, flow through the prosecution stage which has been observed and described as slow-grinding. To be truly effective, therefore, our anti-corruption campaign must include the efficient and speedy resolution of cases by the courts. There is, therefore, a need for the passage of the pertinent bills rationalizing and streamlining further the jurisdiction of the Sandiganbayan and drastically increasing the number of justices and divisions in the Sandiganbayan to ensure the swifter resolution of corruption cases through continuous trial. The importance and indispensability of this reform is confirmed by the analysis of Mr. Tony Kwok himself: "… any successful fight against corruption must start with effective enforcement and successful prosecution on major targets, so as to demonstrate to the public the government’s determination to fight corruption at all costs." Second, both the government and the private sector must earnestly help each other in fighting graft and corruption. Government, considering its lack of resources, should, as much as it can, allow the greatest latitude for private sector participation in procurement and governance. Further, the government should be able to recognize and tap ready and available private sector resources, organizations and structures that can be re-cast and used in the fight against graft and corruption. Thus, great efforts should be exerted by the government to convince private citizens and civil society organizations that they should not content themselves with just being able to complain or criticize the government: more importantly, they should make themselves part of pro-active and concrete anti-corruption initiatives and programs. This active and fruitful collaboration with the private sector and civil society organizations can best be realized through the mechanism provided under the GOVERNMENT PROCUREMENT REFORM ACT, which allows the active involvement of our private citizens in the procurement process, either as observers in the bids and awards committees, or as monitors in the implementation of awarded contracts. Indeed, the GOVERNMENT PROCUREMENT REFORM ACT is a very potent vehicle to prevent corruption in the procurement process - snuffing out its life before it even starts. In the words of its Senate sponsor, Senator Angara: "And while we may not be able to fight graft and corruption at all levels, we are nevertheless in the best position to nip its greatest bloom in the bud…" Clearly, a combined, parallel or even complementary anti-corruption initiatives in the private and public sectors is indispensable – a partnership best illustrated in a recent editorial: But we don’t need surveys to tell us corruption is bad. Everyone knows this, and have known it since time immemorial. The equally age-old question in the light of this perennial observation is, why aren’t inroads being made in the fight against corruption? Tony Kwok, former deputy commissioner of the Hong Kong Commission Against Corruption, has come forward with the clearest reason. Speaking during a recent anti-corruption workshop, Kwok said, "I am confident that given the effective enforcement and successful prosecution by the [Office of the Ombudsman] and the partnership approach in this corruption prevention project, it is possible that this three-year project will see a marked improvement in the eradication of corruption in this country." The key word in his statement is not a call for political will – which is, indeed required, but not enough – but the concept of partnership. ...What emerges, therefore, is the indispensability of a holistic, strategic and even complementary approach to anti-corruption. A complete expeditious cycle of efficient corruption prevention, detection, successful prosecution and swift judicial resolution is indispensable if only to make whole, effective and lasting any anti-corruption reform initiated. Thus, a graft-free society is still possible. But only if the government will commit massive resources and widen, to the greatest extent possible, private sector participation; and if the private sector: citizens, groups and organizations, will actively commit their talents and resources to concrete anti-corruption initiatives. Click here to read the full speech (PDF, 29 pp.)

	Speech of His Excellency Benigno S. Aquino III President of the Philippines At the 1st Integrity Summit [Delivered at the Marriott Hotel, Pasay City, on September 14, 2011]   Good morning. Please sit down. Speaker Feliciano Belmonte, Jr.; Chief Justice Renato Corona; Mr. Ramon del Rosario; Mr. Hubert d’Aboville; Mr. Felino Palafox, Jr.; Mr. Edilberto de Jesus; Ms. Marife Zamora; members of the Cabinet present, namely, Secretary Purisima, Secretary Singson, Secretary Baldoz, Secretary Domingo, Secretary Abad; COMELEC Commissioner Gus Lagman; Representatives from the international organizations, local government units, NGOs, and the business sector; fellow workers in government; honored guests; mga minamahal ko pong kababayan: Magandang umaga po sa inyong lahat. I am happy to be with all of you today to encourage all of you to participate in the Integrity Initiative. As you know, integrity was one of the battle cries of my campaign; and for the past 15 months, we have taken that battle cry to heart—working to foster a culture of integrity in government. In this regard, I am proud to announce that we have made some progress. We have been able to appoint people of unquestioned ability and integrity to important posts in government—from Leila de Lima as Secretary of Justice, Grace Tan and Heidi Mendoza to the Commission on Audit, to Conchita Carpio-Morales as our Ombudsman. Integrity has likewise shaped our budgeting process, which has saved our taxpayers billions of pesos simply by cutting funding for wasteful projects and putting the money to where it will benefit Filipinos the most. Efficient spending has allowed us to allocate a larger chunk of the budget to social services and defense, two sectors that have, for so long, lacked sufficient resources. The Department of Budget and Management has also taken initiative in fostering this culture of transparency. In the 2011 National Budget, for example, there were provisions that mandated all national departments and agencies to publish important budget information and finance and performance indicators on their respective websites. In the same vein, the Department of Interior and Local Government also made significant changes, requiring all Local Government Units to disclose, on local bulletin boards, newspapers, and websites, how they spent their funds. We have also been trying to enjoin the citizenry to take a more active role in governance. This year, we had six national government agencies and three government corporations start a consultative budget preparation process, allowing us to engage civil society organizations in preparing the 2012 National Budget. We also created a layman’s version of the 2011 National Budget so that more people can understand how the government is spending their money.  The Department of Finance launched a website called Pera ng Bayan, through which common citizens can file anonymous reports or leads on possible tax evasion, government collusion, or smuggling operations. All of these we have done to promote integrity. But instilling a culture of integrity in government is only one aspect of the equation. We must also foster the same culture in the private sector, and this is why what you are doing today is most important. Taking part in the Integrity Initiative cannot be measured immediately in pesos and centavos, but its benefits will eventually redound to everyone. For example, it is said that companies who engage in Corporate Social Responsibility, who have track records for integrity and competence, and who abide by the highest standards are valued at a premium in the stock market. Companies who have a reputation for running their businesses in a clean and efficient manner enjoy the confidence of investors, debtors, and other stakeholders as opposed to those who run questionable operations. To put it simply: by doing your part as responsible corporations, everybody wins—and by everybody I mean not just you as corporate workers, but you as taxpayers, as family men and women, and as citizens of this country. All these are contained in your Unified Code of Conduct for Business, which I hope everyone will take extremely seriously. I know how hard it is, sometimes, to uphold these standards. There are times when it must seem impossible to navigate your way through the bureaucracy without being tempted to take a shortcut or to offer a bribe. A simple example is paying taxes. It can be so tempting to pay the collector a fraction of what you owe in taxes instead of the proper amount. Since we assumed office, we have worked on improving our tax administration efforts, and one of the things we have done, is run after tax evaders, smugglers, and corrupt government officials. Since July 2010, a total of 61 tax evasion cases and 43 smuggling cases have been filed with claims totaling around 26 billion pesos and 54 billion pesos, respectively. As we continue to monitor these cases, I am happy to report that our campaign against tax evaders and smugglers is paying off. From January to July this year, revenues collected already increased by 13.47 percent year-on-year. Imagine how much money has been lost over the years—taxes that could have gone to social services, infrastructure, debt reduction, or national defense. In the past, perhaps you could have justified not paying taxes by saying it would have been used to fatten the wallets of corrupt officials. But as we strive to show you that this is no longer the case, I hope we can urge our fellow citizens to pay their share of taxes. As we continue fixing what is wrong with government, I urge you to stand alongside us and do your part. This will not be easy, but if we work on it—if we choose not to shirk our responsibilities as individuals—then everybody will get the message and act fast and accordingly. Let me remind you that our collective desire to instill integrity into our respective communities does not end with a pledge of integrity. We are now obliged to live up to this pledge. Next week I will be in the United States for some very important meetings. I was invited by President Obama, among others, to talk about Open Governance; and I will be proud to tell him, as well as the representatives of several other countries, how in the Philippines, the effort for integrity in governance—the effort for creating a transparent relationship between the people and their government—is one that is shared by the government and the private sector. I would like to thank all of you for your participation, and I am hopeful that you can all follow through on your respective commitments. This is the first ever Integrity Summit, but I hope to see even more participants from the private sector when the second one comes around. Again, congratulations! Thank you. Good day.

	Illuminating articles on CORRUPTION click on underlined title to go to article ARTICLES BY GARY W. ELLIOTT     Antidote for Philippine Corruption The long-term remedy for corruption in the Philippines is individual character development, but existing institutions must be aggressively used in the short-term fight. Mar 3, 2008 - Gary W. Elliott   The Philippines Fights Corruption The Philippine Constitution of 1987 and subsequent laws created anti-corruption agencies that, with other government and non-government initiatives, battle corruption. Feb 28, 2008 - Gary W. Elliott Philippine Culture Permits Graft Cultural assumptions about rightness or wrongness of individual behavior, a point of religious doctrine, and Spanish colonial experience may influence Philippine graft. Feb 24, 2008 - Gary W. Elliott Philippine Institutions of Graft Two major institutions in the Philippine government foster graft and corruption at the national level through allocation of funds and contract irregularities. Feb 22, 2008 - Gary W. Elliott Philippine Graft and Corruption The misuse of public money for private gain poses a very grave challenge to national development in the Philippines, and the magnitude of the problem is staggering. Feb 9, 2008 - Gary W. Elliott Shackled to the culture of corruption by Karl Allan Barlaan and Christian Cardiente, January 17, 2011 Does Corruption Create Poverty? By Walden Bello, April 21, 2010 Philippine National Broadband Network controversy Government Corruption Remains High - 2009 Poll     THE APOCALYPSE OF GOOD GOVERNANCE? 4 Ombudsmen, 4 failed crusades vs corruption BY MALOU MANGAHAS AND KAROL ANNE M. ILAGAN WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 9TH, 2011 · Last of Four Parts FOUR anti-graft czars and 22 years since its birth on Nov. 17, 1989, the Office of the Ombudsman of the Philippines has failed to strike fear in the hearts of crooks, or summon full respect from the people it is supposed to protect against crooks. All four chiefs of the Office...had launched their stints as the nation’s top graft-busters with firm, elaborate, hopeful reforms to fight corruption. When the criticisms trickled in – invariably over low conviction rates, perceived partiality toward the presidents who appointed them, and sheer failure to cope with tremendous case loads and hail crooks to jail – all four trudged on. What they ended serving up, though, were not more and better results, but more excuses...Criticisms and public censure, in fact, seem to have become par for the course for the Office and its head. But perception is one thing, reality is another. Click here to go to full article and links to all four parts of the series Click here to go to the Office of the Ombudsman's response to the PCIJ series . "Victim or Victimizer: Firm Responses to Government Corruption" by Roberto Martin M. Galang

	The Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism series on military corruption 25 years after People Power Part 1: On EDSA’s 25th, corruption devours the Armed Forces Sidebar: A 25-year rebellion Part 2: Petty, big, routine graft a lucrative trade at AFP Sidebar: A politicized military Part 3: Corruption talks trigger worry, debates in AFP Sidebar: Boots on the ground