PH slightly improves in 2018 corruption index–watchdog

MANILA, Philippines—The Philippines’ ranking has slightly improved in the 2018 Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI), said global anti-corruption watchdog Transparency International.

According to the watchdog’s report released Tuesday, the Philippines obtained a score of 36 in 2018 from 34 in 2017, jumping to 99th place out of 180 countries. The country is tied with Albania, Bahrain, Colombia, Tanzania and Thailand.

The country’s score, however, is still far from the Asia-Pacific region’s average of 44, noted Transparency International.

The group reported “little to no progress on anti-corruption” in the Asia Pacific where the Philippines belong. Transparency International attributed this to the “overall weakening of democratic institutions and political rights.”

It uses a scale of zero to 100, where zero is “highly corrupt” and 100 referring to “very clean.”

The top 10 “least corrupt” countries are Denmark, New Zealand, Finland, Singapore, Sweden, Switzerland, Norway, Netherlands, Canada and Luxembourg. Denmark topped the list with a score of 88 followed by New Zealand with 87.

Somalia, South Sudan and Syria, meanwhile, are at the bottom of the index with 10, 13 and 13 points, respectively.

The index is compiled based on data from 12 international organizations, including the World Bank, African Development Bank, and the World Economic Forum.  /muf