Stopping corruption

EDITORIAL

How the Daang Matuwid program of the administration will fare before President Aquino steps out of office remains to be seen, considering that the bureaucracy needs a major makeover in terms of stopping corruption.

But basing from surveys, majority of this country’s constituents are hopeful of the President’s anti-corruption program like the appointment of American professor Robert Klitgaard as anti-corruption consultant of the administration.

This had been welcomed as a step in the right direction by those in government and private sectors who expressed optimism that institutional reforms could be in place if Klitgaard’s recommendations are followed.

But still, there are the brickbats who claimed the appointment of the US professor showed how inept we are that it has to be a foreigner to clean the house for us.

Klitgaard has his fans though, like Senate minority leader Alan Peter Cayetanowho cited the former’s credentials as the world’s leading expert on corruption, having worked with around 30 governments on institutional reforms.

According to Cayetano “efforts of the Aquino administration to seriously address corruption, was welcome, but the existing system that lacks transparency and accountability in governance allows the problem to linger at its worse pace.”

Cayetano said there are key effective legislative measures that remain pending such as the Freedom of Information Bill and Whistle Blowers Act that will give teeth to the planned institutional reforms.

He explained that without the two proposed laws in place, government agencies, as a policy, still do
not allow public access to contracts, transactions that involve spending of state coffers.

The FOI bill seeks to guarantee transparency and accountability in governance that allows public access to government transactions-from the contracts, expenditures.

The President is running against time in the fight against corruption and once he steps out of office, he will be judged on whether he made good his promise to stop or lessen the menace which had afflicted almost all aspects in government.