An anti-corruption strategy for the Philippines

Abstract

Corruption has been identified as a major factor behind the recent East Asia financial crises. This was the conclusion of the 1998 Annual General Meeting of Transparency International held in Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia, September 12-16). Transparency International is a world-wide organisation that tackles corruption in international business and seeks to encourage justice and honesty in government. A consensus reached in the meeting was that corruption, cronyism and insider exploitation were some of the more most serious threats to sustainable growth in East Asia and demanded immediate attention. This paper presents an overview of corruption in the Philippines context, particularly focussing on the electoral process, elected office and taxation assessment and collection. It examines in closer detail ways of strengthening the Resident Ombudsman as one practical measure for tackling corruption.