Global Integrity Report: Philippines - 2010

This peer-reviewed country report includes:

Integrity Indicators Scorecard: Scores, scoring criteria, commentary, references, and peer review perspectives for more than 300 Integrity Indicators.

Reporter's Notebook: An on-the-ground look at corruption and integrity from a leading local journalist.

Corruption Timeline: Ten years of political context to today's corruption and integrity issues.

HIGHLIghts

The overall score of the Philippines has significantly decreased, primarily driven by a widening implementation gap between its laws on the books and their actual implementation. The Philippines earned good scores on freedom of speech procurement regulations, which seem to be implemented effectively. While anti-corruption legislation is strong, the anti-corruption agency does not have the ability to effectively deliver on its remit. Political financing is an area of weakness and the disclosure of political finance records, as well as enforcing conflicts of interest safeguards, are a particular concern. Even though the country's supreme audit institution is adequately resourced, citizens cannot access its reports, which brings into question its transparency and accountability function. The testimonies of recent whistle-blowers reveal that there is a culture of omerta within the supreme audit institution with whistle-blowers risking ostracism or physical harm. Political interference is rampant in the country's insufficiently-funded law enforcement agency.

From the Reporter's Notebooks: Prior to the massacre (of over 30 reporters and media workers), the majority of the murdered journalists on the CMFR list were radio commentators. Many of them were considered “block timers,” meaning they purchased blocks of air time at established radio stations. In many cases, the programs were supported by politicians who exploit the air space either to attack their rivals or promote their positions on issues.