Thursday, January 31, 2008

Corruption concerns block more US aid to Philippines

from ABS CBN News

By RODNEY J. JALECO

Millennium Challenge Corporation CEO John Danilovich briefs newsmen on 2008 grants. Danilovich says the Philippines could not get more help because of a dramatic fall in its anti-corruption rating.

WASHINGTON D.C. - The head of America’s chief global poverty-fighting arm said indications of worsening corruption in the Philippines is blocking the way to hundreds of millions of dollars in additional help.

John Danilovich, Chief Executive Officer of the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), said they have “serious concerns” with corruption indicators for the Philippines.

“The drop in performance was in fact very dramatic,” he told reporters during a briefing at the Foreign Press Center here on Wednesday, January 30.

The MCC, established in 2004 to administer the Millennium Challenge Account, is part of the US development assistance infrastructure that rewards countries “that have demonstrated commitment to implement political, social and economic reforms.”

The MCC has provided $5.5 billion to 16 “Compact” status nations and another $325 million to 15 “Threshold” status countries that include the Philippines.

Finance Secretary Margarito Teves is headed here for scheduled talks with Danilovich on Tuesday.

The Philippines' grade in the area of “control of corruption” – one of 17 categories the MCC is looking at – fell from 76 percent in 2007 to only 57 percent at the start of 2008. It’s still a passing grade, but the drop is so worrisome to the MCC that it is setting aside the Philippine’s elevation from “Threshold” to “Compact” status.

“We want to understand more clearly why that dramatic drop has occurred so we can have some clarity as to whether or not this precipitous drop is going to continue or if there was some indicator irregularity or if there are further strong reforms the Philippine government needs to take in this regard,” Danilovich explained.

This new concept of development assistance arose from the 2002 Monterrey Summit where US President George W. Bush called for a “new compact for global development” linking contributions from developed nations to greater responsibility from developing countries.

Staying in “Threshold” status or moving up has immense ramifications for the Philippines. As a “Threshold” nation, it will receive $22.1 million this year to improve revenue administration and anti-corruption efforts. The program will specifically benefit the Office of the Ombudsman, Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR), Bureau of Customs and Department of Finance.

Compare that amount – average for “Threshold” status nations – to countries that have made it to “Compact” status. Morocco will get nearly $688 million for fruit tree productivity, fisheries and artisan crafts; Ghana with $547 million to boost farmer incomes in that country’s poorest regions; Mozambique with $507 million to improve water systems, sanitation, access to markets, land tenure services and agriculture in targeted districts; Mali with $461 million to develop two of that nation’s key assets – its international airport and the Niger River, among others.

Charges d’Affaires Carlos Sorreta pointed out that the Philippines has been improving steadily to meet all the MCC benchmarks. These are grouped into three main subjects:

- “Economic Freedom” which measures fiscal and trade policies, inflation, regulatory quality, business start-up and land rights and access;

- “Investing in People” which measures natural resource management, girls’ primary education completion, primary education and health expenditures, and immunization rates; and

- “Ruling Justly” which measures rule of law, voice and accountability, political rights, civil liberties and control of corruption.

“We’ve improved across the board on practically all categories so we’re very close now to possibly Compact status. We passed that corruption indicator but it’s a competition to attain Compact status so they want us to improve more,” Sorreta said.

In 2007 the MCC gave failing grades to the Philippines in the fields of fiscal policy, business start-up, primary education expenditures, health expenditures and immunization rates. But at the start of 2008, that number had been trimmed to just three areas – fiscal policy, primary education expenditures and health expenditures.

Sorreta admitted that the MCC puts a premium on fighting corruption. While there has been marked improvement in “Economic Freedom” categories, and mostly maintaining 2007 levels for “Investing People”, indicators for “Ruling Justly” categories have fallen over the last year.

He explained that the MCC relies on “third party assessors” to evaluate how participating countries are faring in all its pre-determined benchmarks.

“Third party assessors don’t actually have hard evidence. I’ve seen their reports, they don’t have the kind of evidence that you can go to court with,” Sorreta averred.

He surmised that the deluge of negative media reports on Philippine corruption may have contributed to the MCC’s unfavorable outlook on the country.

“It’s really research, open sources. So the MCC in a sense of fairness is giving us the opportunity to address those things that were raised to them,” he added.

Regardless of how the Danilovich-Teves meet fares, the Philippines has already blown its chance to be elevated this year. The MCC board, headed by State Secretary Condoleeza Rice, meets again in the summer, and if the Arroyo administration can convince them the state of corruption in the Philippines is not as bad as it’s been portrayed, it may get another chance to move to the next level.

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Anonymous said...

Politics and Government in the Philippines is founded on a governance system that BREEDS corruption. So that Filipinos-- especially the small middle class whom I believe are mostly clueless--will appreciate how serious the situation, I would like to share about my personal discovery about corruption in a Christian nation, especially as applied to the Philippines, the former colony of Spain for about 400 years and the USA for 48 years:

1. Where there are human beings there is corruption. Romans 3:23 in the Bible says: For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. Corruption is in each and all of us human beings!

2. Given #1 above, humans need to be placed in a system of church governance that should not BREED corruption, but to CHECK corruption.

3. Since the spiritual side of human life is more foundational than the secular (or physical) side--our spirit lives even after death--it follows that the system of STATE governance should FOLLOW the system of CHURCH governance.

4. The History of human governance systems has evolved from the Rule of One (monarchy) to the Rule of many or Majority (democracy). This implies that the Rule of Majority is better than the Rule of One in checking THE corruption in man. In other words monarchy, in its physical or spiritual form is anachronistic. This is true not only in secular systems but also in the spiritual(except The Holy Spiritual form) . For example, Roman Catholicism and some Protestant churches--where the "vicar" or the "anointed one" (also in the Tamang/Dating Daan) is the ABSOLUTE RULER of the church--are more corrupt than the Presbyterian / Reformed Christianity (US/UK) system where presbyters / elders rule. 400 years of Spanish rule in the Philippines (compared with 48 American years), brought forth the "Padrino" system that is now deeply impregnated in the "Pinoy" culture.

5. Based on #s 1 to 4, countries and nations of the world may be categorized into FOUR TYPES of governance systems where corruption exists, from LEAST to GREATEST: A. Rule of Majority in both church and state governance; B. Rule of Majority in church governance AND Rule of One in state governance. C. Rule of One in church governance AND Rule of Majority in state governance; D. Rule of One in both church and state.

6. Examples of A countries: Australia, New Zealand, Canada, UK, and USA, and Bermuda...

7. Example of C countries: Philippines and countries in Central and South America, and Guam...

OBSERVATIONS and CONCLUSIONS:

A. While the USA may be more corrupt than the other "A" countries, the USA definitely is not as corrupt compared to my beloved Philippines, one major country in the "C" category, by a very "B"ig margin!! I know for I have lived and worked at least 20 years in each country. I've experienced serious, personally damaging corruption in both countries--secular and spiritual. I must admit though that some big initiators of corruption in the Philippines are Americans who know how to "score" in the current bad spiritual governance system, and deal with those in power.

B. Legally or legally, millions of people from the "C" countries have moved to the USA. Living and working under a system where generally NOBODY (including the President) is above the Law, these immigrants have become better citizens.

C. I'm not anti-catholic. I believe Roman Catholics and Protestants are Christians. It's the ingrained bad church governance that we need to change to "church of the congregation, by the congregation, and for the congregation". Please pray for Philippines to change [or be BORN AGAIN] from "rex LEX" to "LEX rex" (Presbyterian or Reformed Christian) system in church governance so that the state governance system (Government of the people, by the people, and for the people!) adopted on July 4, 1946 by the Filipinos from the Americans will succeed!

D. The Philippines should change to the Parliamentary system of state governance because it is a MORE VISIBLE example of the Rule of Majority principle than the Presidential system. Moreover, the Presidential system boils down or gravitates to the Rule of One because of the 400-Century Culture ("Kung sino ang naka-pwesto siyang naghahari" or "the one-in-place rules!", also "It's NOT what you know, but who you know!"). Philippines will be in good company with these Parliamentary governments in this region: Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Japan, Papua New Guinea, New Zealand, Australia. .

E. With the Philippine Parliament in place AND with God's blessings and the Internet, it would only a matter of time before Protestant and Roman Christians will help each other form a united coalition to form a Presbyterian / Reformed type of church governance in their respective parishes. This will only result in people in the grass-roots level not only to get educated in the Parliamentary system but also PRACTICE the Rule of Majority every year in their respective local parishes. They also need to forget, perhaps temporarily their doctrinal and practical differences FOR the Good of the Philippines--ALL for the Glory of God! This is biblical, Romans 8:28.

F. No matter how much we like to change the human system to solve corruption, it will NOT work UNLESS we fallen creatures believe "... seek ye first the Kingdom of God, and his righteousness, and all of these things shall be added unto you." Matthew 6:33. IF we TRULY believe and LOVE one another, He will DO the changing of the corrupt to the GOOD system and bless Philippines!

Sources of Information:

The BIBLE (or Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth!); The Constitution of US and Philippines / UK; Magna Carta; Lex Rex by Rutherford; Wikipedia

Google it: "LEX rex", "Rule of Law"