Prevention of Graft and Corruption

The only way to lick graft and corruption is by constant vigilance through an independent and surprise preventive auditing.

The two-headed monster called graft and corruption came with the drawn of civilization and has plagued mankind since then. Biblical history tells us that the original sin of the corruption started when Adam was tempted and corrupted by the serpent (Satan) to eat the forbidden fruit. The disgraced apostle Judas of Scariot took a measly bribe money in betraying Jesus Christ with a kiss. An early age, children are unwittingly exposed to bribery whenever their parents reward them in getting things done. A Cornell University study shows that the average child develops a non-condemning attitude toward cheating by the time he or she is ten years old. The Chicago Sun Times reports that 70 percent of store employees have stolen from their employers. It can be reasonably said then that the seed of corruption is deeply embedded in most people that they will not hesitate to graft and to corrupt whenever there is an opportunity. And so, the only way to lick corruption is by constant vigilance through an independent and surprise preventive auditing.

Politics and corruption go together in most countries of the world. Graft and corruption have become to a major issue against the incumbent administration in every election campaign because no president or head of state has yet been successful in fighting this evil. The costly presidential probes on corruption all fizzled out or self-destructed for lack of political will to prosecute his or her own men involved or Congress killed them by denying budgetary appropriation.

Corruption exists only when there is an opportunity. The removal of the opportunity therefore tends to stop corruption. An authoritarian administrator who become corrupt and to plunder. A faulty system such requiring forty two signatories in the approval of the document best exemplified a bureaucratic redtape that gives forty two opportunities for bribery. Double standard is another opportunity to corruption. If a government forbids gambling but authorization itself to operate gambling gambling casinos, it loses its police power to control illegal gambling. And anything that is illegal becomes a lucrative source of bribery for the law enforcers. Lack of supervision gives splendid opportunity for the perpetration of corruption as nobody checks wrongdoings. People behave and continue to be honest and efficient when they know they will be checked at anytime.

Here are the major risk factors that spawn graft and corruption and how they can be prevented.

Faulty System

The persistence of graft and corruption in a government can be attributed to a faulty political system that legitimizes totally immoral political practices. Authorized huge campaign expenses enable rich and powerful politicians to buy votes, support private armies and hire goons to ensure election. Political contributions to campaign funds in buying influence have no limits most of which find their way to the pockets of candidates. Donations to the political chests may consists of shares of stocks, purchase of tickets for fund-raising dinner parties or personal services as campaign managers and political leaders. All of these political debts have to be repaid by the grateful President-elect. Juicy top government positions are doled out to political proteges and businessman contributing to campaign funds are greatly favored. So it is no wonder when a goon is appointed department secretary favors and protects his family interests secretly and indirectly. In this situation, prudent screening of appointees is set aside thus some incompetent and dishonest political proteges can easily be appointed to sensitive positions. An incompetent official has no choice but to steal as he will never resign. The success of any form of government will consequently depend on the election of a strong leader of good character who can make a solemn vow to be disloyal to his or her relatives, friends and associates. This is one of the surest ways to avoid graft and corruption and political abuses. Centralization of government functions leads to redtape that hampers progress in the rural areas, erodes peace and order and the administration of justice.

Prevention

The prevalence of high-level corruption in the government has given a country the best opportunity to rebuild its faulty institutions. The rebuilding will have to be a fundamental overhaul including the amendment of its faulty institutions. The rebuilding will have to be a fundamental overhaul including the amendment of its constitution to limit campaign expenses to the minimum with the government subsidizing a portion of it. Political contributions and donations should be prohibited by law as they are the worst form of bribery. It is to the best national interest of a country that members of the cabinet are non-political system and national police will minimize bureaucratic corruption down the line with the local officials given greater participation and responsibility in the job of governing.

Office Politics

One of the major causes of corruption and ineptness in many offices is due to office politics. In every new administration, it is the common practice of the newly elected President of a country or a newly installed President and Chairman of the Board of a company or the newly appointed department head to employ his or her own confidants and team of advisers. The favored persons may be some relatives, friends. classmates or associates. The grateful appointee naturally becomes a loyal follower of the appointing official and the willing conspirator in wrongdoings. The "padrino system" is embedded in many offices especially the government. Vacancies or jobs are created for the proteges. Promotions are no longer based on seniority or performance but on right connections. Equally prevalent in many offices is the "compadre system" whereby an enterprising subordinate will persuade his superior to be the godfather of his son to get promotion or salary increase. These corrupt practices often lead to the bloating of the bureaucracy such that a department secretary may have four undersecretaries and numberless assistant secretaries. In the guise of reorganization to streamline the bureaucracy, a new administration can fire or retire early, tens of thousands of civil servants and replace them with their own people.

Prevention

A potent remedy for the graft and corruption problem in offices is to ban the padrino and compadre systems to ensure the hiring of honest and competent employees and optimize the number of personnel. In order that there will be an uninterrupted efficiency of operations of the various departments, officials from undersecretaries down who are the workhorses should by law be made members of the civil service, enjoying tenure of office up to retirement. This will prevent political leaders from having too much influence in the hiring and firing of civil servants particularly during change of administration.

Conflict of Interest

It is widespread human weakness to wish for a comfortable, secured and enjoyable good life. If this great motivating force or influence cannot be realized through legitimate means, the easiest and fastest way to achieve it is through corruption. Consequently, the most common cause of graft and corruption is... conflict of the interest. When the private interest of a person clashes with his official responsibilities in a position of trust, it is usually his personal responsibilities in a position of trust, it is usually his personal interest that is always protected as a matter of self-observation. An official will use his power and influence to covertly favor and support his family, relatives, friends and close associates. For example, a Central Bank Governor could not avoid the public suspicious that he favored a certain bank that he had founded and served as its President and Chairman of the Board despite his claim that he had sold all his shares of stocks. Nevertheless, the most-favored bank grew tremendously during his claim of non-involvement. His family firms too had achieved unusual growth and diversity while he was on office. A President and Chairman of the Board and some members of the Board o Directors of a Filipinized multinational company secretly established their own business enterprises under various fictitious trade names which were given preferential treatment by the company. There was a high-level conspiracy to finance some favored suppliers by paying them in advance or COD while all other suppliers were paid 30 to 60 days.

Prevention

The President's men or cabinet members can make or unmake a President. Since the top man of every executive department is a Presidential appointee who helps the President in governing, it is important that his honesty, integrity and competence are beyond question. To avoid conflict of interest, the appointee should not be a former businessman, banker, contractor or manufacturer. The Legislature particularly its Commission on Appointments can deter conflict of interest by not approving the appointment of an official if there is no certification from the Securities and Exchange Commission that the appointee has divested himself of all interest among public officials should be conducted by the Auditing Agency of the government. In a privately owned company, its internal audit department should review periodically the backgrounds of its suppliers and check their ownership and capitalization with the Securities and Exchange Commission to disclose any conflict of interest or fictitious suppliers.

Corruption is a vicious and destructive addiction that has victimized all countries of the world, all types of government and the most disciplined nations like Japan, England and Singapore. In most instances, top people are involved in corrupt practices because subordinates do not dare to expose their superiors for fear of losing their jobs or be demoted. There had been problems in implementing the anti-graft law as senior officials interfered with the investigations and offenders tried to bribe their way out of trouble. Court sentences were too light and came too slowly or none at all for the rich and powerful. In contrast, the small grafters were easily prosecuted and received multiple sentences. Receiving valuable gifts as bribes were only gently reprimanded. Some top officials whose integrity had raised eyebrows were either retired or forced to resign but were later reappointed to higher positions.

Honesty and integrity can never be taught nor exemplified. Reeducating the younger generation on moral values takes enormous time and effort without any assurance of success. Public opinion formed from media revelations is a potent weapon against graft and corruption. But still the ultimate weapon is surveillance through an independent preventive auditing that stops wrongdoings before they can start and ferrets out faulty systems and inefficiency down the line. After all, an effective deterrent to corruption is the strict enforcement of the anti-graft law against the culprit such as expulsion from the service, restitution of stolen assets, imprisonment and ostracism.

Power Corrupts

Most cases of political corruption and scandals have occurred in a country where the law profession is highly esteemed and glorified. The wrongdoers are mostly members of the ruling political power of enabling them to exercise strong influence on government officials and the decision-making process. Inasmuch as the law professionals are schooled in the art of law making and interpretation, they dominate all branches of the government and the top key positions. Consequently, excessive politics especially the bad ones flourish in the government. The expertise is bending or circumventing the law or finding loopholes in it, makes the lawyer best equipped to corrupt practices. The government as the biggest corporation in a country needs an honest and firm leadership and stable economic growth to attract foreign investors for its prosperity. It further requires disciplined managers who are trained in business administration and financial controls to overcome hardships by promoting thrift, obedience, hard work, cleanliness, and the profit motive. Lawyers do not seem fit to fill this responsibility because of their training. Furthermore, the constant bickering and wrangling of some politicians and their destructive criticisms against the incumbent administration are a great deterrent to economic development or recovery. Added to this is the deplorable restoration of the "pork barrel" system whereby the huge government appropriation for provincial projects is distributed to each of the lawmakers yielding rich patronage benefits. The "pork barrel" scheme has approved to be open to corruption because the lawmaker to his constituents, nevertheless it destroys the check and balance between the Executive and Legislative departments.

Prevention

The educational system of a developing country should be revised to give more emphasis on technological courses that will encourage industrial development. The Civil Service Commission should have a policy aimed at bringing the best and the brightest into the government service by offering the right compensation and making dishonesty and inefficiency causes for dismissal. The Department of Public Works and Highways should be allowed to do its duty and responsibility of implementing public works projects projects through competitive biddings without interference from the legislators' efforts in the making of good laws and repealing bad news will minimize politicking and political corruption and unhealthy distrust of politicians. As a preventive measure against corrupt practices, the Legislature should abolish the pork barrel appropriation in the National Budget.