Contemporary 2nd Quarter

Issues 10
MODULE Graft and Corruption
6
Graft and corruption exist in many countries and are experience by citizens at varying levels. They plague the public
sector and its way of governance. However, it is not only true for the public or government sector, but also for the private
sector. They have existed since the Spanish era and still prevails up to the current period.
Many people say Filipino values may be considered as a contributing factor to the existence of corruption in the
Philippines, and this makes it difficult to curtail the problem, if not put a stop to it. It is a publicly known the problem that
everybody talks about it and yet cannot find an effective solution. There are government institutions and laws created to deal
with the problem, such as the Office of the Ombudsman and RA 3019. However, rampant graft and corruption still persist,
and giving the country a poor performance in the 2016 Global Corruption Index.
Understanding Graft and Corruption
The following definition of the terms and concepts are from the book Corruptionary produced by the Center for
People
Empowerment in Governance.

A. Bribery- the act of giving money or goods to influence a certain action or decision in favor of the one giving. This form of
corruption is considered as one of the most common forms of corruption.
There are different types of bribery:
1. Influence- peddling- the act wherein a government official offers an influence or access to government decision-
making to someone who might need the information.
2. Offering or receiving improper gifts- a form of gratitude given to an official out of the service or work he or she
rendered. However, it poses implication for it can lead to bribery or extortion and other implications once committed.
3. Bribery to avoid tax liability- public officials in charge of the collection of taxes are offered a bribe to reduce the tax
due of the one giving the bribe.
4. Bribery in support of fraud- public officials involved in the payroll may be influenced to support the listing of ghost
employees in the payroll.
5. Bribery to avoid criminal liability- public officials, particularly those in charge of protecting the citizens, may be
bribed for criminal activities to not be prosecuted and pursued by the court.
6. Bribery in support of unfair competition- also known as kickback, this is when officials receive a certain amount
from a private contractor in order to secure and close a government contract.
7. Embezzlement, theft, and fraud- corrupt practices that involve taking or converting money, property, and anything of
value by someone who is not entitled.
8. Abuse of discretion- abuse of discretion by a public official for personal gain.
9. Favoritism, nepotism, and clientelism- forms of abuse of self-discretion with emphasis on giving special treatment to
someone greatly favored, usually a family member, relative, or friend.
10. Improper political contribution- donating money or goods for a political party’s campaign pr activity with the
intention of protecting one’s interests once the party wins or seeking favor from the public official.
B. Corruption- use of public office for self-interest; betrayal of public trust for private gain; an anomaly.
The terms graft and corruption go together. According to the economist Samuel Huntington, graft pertains to the
irregularity in obtaining money or favor through illegal or anomalous means, while corruption, aside from the above
definition, pertains to the behavior of public officials which deviates from the accepted norms in order to serve private ends.
Stanislva Andreski, a Polish-British sociologist defines corruption further as the practice of using power of office for making
private gain in breach of laws and regulations nominally in force.

There are two known players in instances of corruption: the person who offers and pays the bribe and the person who
receives it. Respectively, the types of corruption that exist between the two characters are active and passive corruption.

There are different forms of corruption in terms of scale and intensity. These can be classified into the following:
1. Grand- a form of “corruption which pervades the highest levels of government, leading to the broad erosion of
confidence in good governance, the rule of law, and economic stability in the countries concerned.” This is the form of
corruption wherein the moral values of the people involved become distorted.
2. Petty- corruption that involves the exchange of small amounts of money or minor favors by those seeking preferential
treatment. This includes the employment of people close tot her person in minor positions.
Setting of Corruptions
1. Public- sector corruption- a setting wherein corruption involves the government.
2. Private- sector corruption- a setting where private individuals, groups, businesses, or NGOs are involved.
 3. Bureaucratic corruption- a setting where the involved people are those within the government coming from the
lowest rank to the highest position. This includes making government procedures easy and fast for those who are
offering bribe.
How Corruption Happens
The issue on corruption follows a certain formula that when satisfied, corruption takes place. There are two (2)
formulas for corruption.
1. C= M + D – A, where C is corruption, M is monopoly, D is discretion, and A is absence of accountability.
2. C= (M + D) – (A + I + T), where C is corruption, M is monopoly, D is discretion, A is accountability, I is integrity,
and T is transparency.
Corruption happens when public officials indulge supporters and followers, which later on generates pressure on the
politician to engage in corrupt practices.
The Context of Corruption in the Philippines
Corruption is felt by most people in the country. People have seen on media the gravity, the uneducated and educated,
the blue- and white-collar workers, and the small business and large corporations, corruption exists. Everyone has witnessed
corruption at different levels.
A. Philippine Experience and Perception on Graft and Corruption
 Public sector graft and corruption extend to all parts of the government, from social services such as public works,
health, education, and agriculture; to the local government units (LGUs); the legislative department; to the judiciary;
and even to the executive department.
 By the time of the Spanish occupation, feudalism came into practice and patterns of political relations emerged.
 During the American occupation, a unitary form of government was created and the Filipino elite class dominated.
 After the American period, in the 1960s to 1990s, the country witnessed the use of government funds for election
campaigns, aside from all the resources available to the incumbent political party.
 It was during the time of President Ferdinand Marcos when the country suffered from massive corruption that by the
late 1980s, the country became part of the Guinness Book of World Records for purportedly being the biggest in
corruption at that time. The words “kleptocracy” and “plunder” became the political vocabulary.
 Legal norms are grounded on the rationality and universal principles of actions, while cultural norms in the Philippine
society on other hand are dependent on the values of obligation toward family members and kinship, as well as the
virtues of pakikisama and pakikipagkapwa-tao.
 According to Evita Jimenez words such as tong-pats (padded budget) or patong; areglo (deal); lakad (fix); padulas
(fee given to expedite an illegal transaction); pampagana (incentive); cash gift; raket (racket); lagay (bribe); and
bukol (a booty not shared; literally, a lump), are among the words that have sprouted as a result of corrupt practices.
The government through the Office of the Ombudsman, last 2017, released a list of the top most corrupt government
agencies based on criminal and administrative complaints:
1. Local Government Units
2. Department of Budget and Management
3. House of Representatives
4. Department of Finance
5. Department of Agriculture
6. Philippine National Construction Corporation
7. Philippine Sports Commission
8. Philippine Postal Corporation
9. Armed Forces of the Philippines
10. Armed Forces of the Philippines
11. Department of Environment and Natural Resources
12. Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation
13. Bureau of Fire Protection
14. Philippine National Police
B. Effects of Graft and Corruption
 The determinants for economics such as financial stability, investment, human capital accumulation, and productivity
may suffer.
 The value and moral system of the citizens is slowly being eroded as corruption continue to prevail.
 The existence of corruption also widens the gap between the rich and the poor.
 It makes sustainable development difficult to achieve and invites an atmosphere that tolerates the violation of human
rights, as basic services are not fully given to the citizens.

FT1. Analyze the scenario in each number and determine the kind of bribery being done.
_________1. A police officer uses his or her official position to help a friend collect a debt from a third person by means of self-
help.
_________2. A driving school examiner takes a bribe, promising to speed up the process of getting a driving licence for the citizen.
_________3. The examiner talks to the head of the school and asks the citizen to be exempt from the theory test.
_________4. A party has secret bank accounts, including abroad, and the former party leader personally gets 2 million marks in
donations that are not recorded in the financial accounts. The party leader resigns.
_________5. A municipality hires a construction adviser who is the partner of the mother of the head of the construction
department.
_________6. An entrepreneur’s only chance to get detailed information about the new public procurement system is to listen to
officials in paid training sessions.
_________7. The ministry’s chancellor has subscribed the ministry for a newspaper that is published by a company in which the
chancellor has a share.
_________8. The use of an official car for personal needs or for earning accessory income.
_________9. Using a subordinate for taking care of personal affairs.
_________10. A local government official whose brother is an active NGO member allocates project funds to the NGO connected
to his or her brother.
_________11. A local government member whose spouse is head of the local school allocates investments to the school connected
to his or her spouse.
_________12. Parking officers get their hair and nails done, etc., in exchange for not writing parking tickets.
_________13. A construction adviser prepares a permit for the use of a building for his or her neighbor, although the building does
not meet the requirements.
_________14. A school accountant embezzles money from a public school and spends it in a casino.
_________15. A mayor signs a secret agreement with a bank under which the mayor solely guarantees a loan on behalf of the city
government. The loan is not repaid and tax money is used for covering the loan.
_________16. A company gives cash to a minister’s adviser in return for buying influence from the minister, using which the latter
would help make sure that the company gets a satellite telephone licence.
_________17. A customs official confiscates a pirated product to start using it him or herself.
_________18. Tina was forced to give a money to the head officer for a higher promotion.
_________19. The mayor of the neighboring town listed officials which do not exist in the municipality.
_________20. Giving goods/property/money to a teacher in exchange of a higher grade.
FT2. Give the two formulas for corruption in complete terms.

FT3. Answer the questions thoroughly.

1. How feasible is political corruption in the country? What makes it feasible or not feasible?

2. How do Filipino values contribute to corruption? Do you agree this is so? Explain your answer.

3. Why do you think euphemisms are used for corrupt practices?

4. What will you do if you happen to witness an act of corruption?

5. How does the graft and corruption widen the gap between the poor and the rich?

FT4. Using the words given, create a sentence profoundly.

1. steal government people
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2. tax bribe officials
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3. Ombudsman crime problem
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4. amounts minor employment
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5. wealth low class gap
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6. corruption power government
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7. monopoly integrity discretion
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8. plunder vocabulary time
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