Proposal Against Corruption

UNIVERSITY OF SAINT ANTHONY
(Dr. Santiago G. Ortega Memorial)

City of Iriga
SENIOR HIGHSCHOOL
Proposal Against Corruption

(Kurt Sid Marione P. Estrebillo)
Almost every country has its history and stain of corruption, be it in any form of
government. Corruption is something that is like a virus, it decays any processes that
are present at any moment in exchange for a reward or for the promise or expectation
of a reward. To put it simply, corruption is the misuse of public power by elected
politicians or appointed civil servants for private gain. Corruption comes in any form and
it can happen anywhere. This unethical behavior results in various adverse effects, most
significantly in these four aspects — political, social, environmental, and economical.
Combating corruption is one of the serious existing problem that our country -
the Republic of the Philippines is constantly suffering from for a very long time. A
1990’s survey conducted by Transparency International, shows that the Philippines
ranked 9th and was regarded as one of the world’s most corrupt nations. In 2013, the
Philippines ranked 94th out of 197 countries in the Transparency International
corruption index. These aforementioned results show that the Philippines is heavily
ingrained with corruption and it takes place at all levels of the government, particularly
among high-level civil servants. There are numerous corruption-related scandals in
politics. In 2014, dozens of politicians were caught in a $229 million graft scandal
infamously known as the “pork barrel scam”. The scandal centers on Janet Lim Napoles,
a businesswoman who claims she was part of a scheme in which dummy
nongovernmental organizations were formed between 2004 and 2010 to steal off $229
million for herself and her accomplices. This scandal really affected not only the political
image of the country but also the hard-working taxpayers of the country. Corruption —
in all forms, must be eradicated, if not possible, at least to be lessened in order for the
country to redeem its people and to progress — not only individually, but as a nation.
This proposal generally aims to further understand why and how corruption
exists in the first place and what are the things to be done in order to prevent and
minimize the corruption in a country, particularly the Philippines. There are three
objectives for this proposal; firstly — figuring out the how and whys of corruption,
secondly — analyzing the reasons that prompts someone into doing and being involved
in any corrupt activities, and lastly — implementing various laws and amendments in
order to prevent corruption. Moreover, formulating a solution to prevent and lessen the
corruption through looking at its roots and the reasons and probability of a person
committing corrupt activities is more substantial rather than solely creating a law that
City of Iriga
SENIOR HIGHSCHOOL
stops corruption without having any background knowledge on why and how these
exist in the first place.
This proposal would be covering the barangays and it would be viewed in a

micro perspective. The barangay is the smallest political unit in the Philippines;
however, its function isn’t necessarily as lesser or as unimportant unlike bigger political
units. Unethical activities particularly corruption also manifests in the barangays, despite
it being the smallest political unit. In the past, there were many barangay officials that
were convicted due to being involved in corrupt practices. One of the most evident
corrupt practices that many are consciously and unconsciously experiencing is the illegal
vote buying during incoming elections and also the unidentified uses of the funds that
were primarily for funding various projects.
In response to the aforementioned objectives, the following methods (in a step-

by-step process) would be put into consideration:
1. Doing a background check about the history of corruption.
2. Assessment on why people do corrupt practices through
interrogation or interview.
3. Strengthening of education — particularly prioritization of politically
inclined subjects.
4. Increasement of accountability among politicians.
5. Ending the act of impunity.
First and foremost, having a background knowledge on how and why corruption
exists is very important. Most people that are engaged in corrupt activities are usually
motivated by various means. It could be because they want money to fully provide for
their family, it could be through extortion or bribery, or solely because they want more
power in the field. Having a background check could be through the means of survey,
interviewing barangay officials, studying textbooks, and surfing the web for fact-based
records. Secondly, assessment on the people that were previously engaged in any
corrupt practices through interrogation. This would provide a direct explanation on what
were the motivations behind their actions and what prompted them to do it. The third
method refers to the strengthening of the education system in the country. It would
increase the students’ political literacy and make them more aware about the cause and
effect of corruption in the government. The fourth method would be anchored on the
roles and responsibility of the politicians or government officials. This also refers to
City of Iriga
SENIOR HIGHSCHOOL
increasing the transparency or full disclosure of their credentials for the people to trust
them and acknowledge their services. Lastly, the fifth method pertains to the
eradication of impunity. The Filipinos are no longer new to this, there has been many
records of powerful politicians that evaded jail imprisonment just because of their
connections and their ability to outplay the law due to impunity.
The aforementioned methods are possible to be conducted, if carried out
properly, it would surely shed light in seeking answers and finding good solutions for
this serious problem. The mentioned goals would not necessarily guarantee to eradicate
corruption since corruption can really occur anywhere. There are numerous possible
reasons and factors that motivate someone to do corrupt activities. Corruption is a
problem that is controllable, but it is most likely impossible to be eradicated since it lies
within every individual and it depends on how they would fend off the unethical
temptations. To put it in a simple analogy, corruption is like a parasite that feasts from
its host — the country as a whole. Basically, the relationship of the country and
corruption is like a host-parasite relationship. The more the corruption that are
happening in the country, the more they will benefit from their unethical practices and
the more the country and its people will suffer. Since it unlikely to be completely
eradicated, the mentioned methods would be a good solution to prevent and minimize
corruption in the country. Having lesser corruption rate, improved transparency of
government officials, increasement of political literacy among the people, and the
redeeming of people’s trust back from the government would be the expected outcome.

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UNIVERSITY OF SAINT ANTHONY

(Dr. Santiago G. Ortega Memorial)

This proposal would be covering the barangays and it would be viewed in a

In response to the aforementioned objectives, the following methods (in a step-

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