House passes bill declaring anti-corruption month

MANILA, Philippines—The House of Representatives seeks to make December as Anti-Corruption Month in the Philippines.

In reaction to the Transparency International study which ranked the Philippines as one of the most corrupt country in the world, lawmakers on Friday approved on third and final reading House Bill 3005, declaring the month of December as anti-corruption month.

The bill urges government officials and employers in the private sector to disseminate information on the adverse effects of corruption, in turn, raising awareness among their ranks.

“The problem of corruption calls for immediate action and calls for a revamp of the bureaucracy, the prosecution of those found violating our anti-corruption laws and punishment for those who are found guilty,” said one of the bill’s authors, Cagayan de Oro Representative Rufus Rodriguez.

He said in a statement that the country ranked 129th in the list of corrupt countries in the annual Corruption Perception Index.

“With 183 countries, the Philippines is ranked 129th, with a score of 2.6 in the Corruption Perception Index of 2011;  New Zealand in the  first slot with an index score of 9.5 and Somalia and North Korea at the bottom,” Rodriguez said.

Transparency International ranks countries every year based on how corrupt their public sector is perceived to be, on a scale of 0-10, where 0 means highly corrupt and 10 means a country is perceived as very clean.

Two thirds of ranked countries score less than 5, including the Philippines.

Rodriguez said that the bill coincides with the United Nation’s World Anti-Corruption Day which is commemorated every 9th of December 9.

Other co-authors of the bill are Abante Mindanao party-list Representative Maximo Rodriguez Jr., Antipolo City Representative Romeo Acop and Pangasinan Representative Marlyn Primicias-Agabas.

Rodriguez explained how corruption not only slows down economic and social development but also impedes the delivery of basic services, lowers the quality of infrastructure projects and raises the prices of goods and services.