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SINGAPORE: The Philippines is perceived by foreign
businessmen as Asia’s most corrupt economy, according to a survey
Tuesday that also found countries were failing properly to tackle
corruption.
President Arroyo dismissed the
survey, saying the perceptions were outdated.
The Hong Kong-based Political and
Economic Risk Consultancy (PERC) said in a summary made available to
Agence France-Presse Singapore and Hong Kong were seen as the
cleanest economies, while China, Indonesia and Vietnam posted
improvements.
Perception of corruption in
Thailand worsened, with the military junta now in power after last
September’s coup seen as little better than the government it
ousted.
“The Philippines has the
distinction of being perceived in the worst light this year,” PERC
said after polling 1,476 expatriate business executives in 13
countries and territories across the region in January and February.
In a grading system with zero as
the best possible score and 10 the worst, the Philippines got 9.40,
worsening sharply from its grade of 7.80 last year. Indonesia had
been deemed Asia’s most corrupt country in 2006.
PERC, which provides advice to
private firms and governments, said it had not noted a worsening in
the actual situation in the Philippines despite its deteriorating
score.
“It is bad and has been bad all
along. People are just growing tired of the inaction and insincerity
of leading officials when they promise to fight corruption,” it
said.
The protracted corruption trial
of deposed President Joseph Estrada “is an example of the problem
and probably explains why respondents to our survey were so negative
in their assessment” of the country.
Thailand and Indonesia, both on a
grade of 8.03, shared the spot as Asia’s second most corrupt
nations.
Thailand’s image worsened
slightly on last year while Indonesia’s score was better.
The junta that ousted Thaksin
Shinawatra as Thailand’s prime minister last September promised to
fight corruption “but there is no reason to be confident that its
behavior will be any cleaner,” PERC said.
On Indonesia PERC said President
Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono’s campaign to crack down on corruption
has “produced some positive results, but he is still swimming
against the current.”
The rankings of the 13 economies
put Malaysia mid-table, marginally worse than last year.
“One of the big disappointments
for many Malaysians is that Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi has
not been able or willing to follow through effectively with his
campaign promise to reduce corruption,” PERC said.
China and Vietnam bettered their
scores, but PERC said the improved perception was because corruption
was not being discussed openly.
“The media in both China and
Vietnam is subject to tight censorship. The only bad news the
governments want published is news that they see fit for public
consumption,” it said.
China was the seventh most
corrupt nation, according to the survey table, up two places from
last year. Vietnam was in 10th place out of 13, also up two.
India was in ninth place. PERC
said the Indian government must accelerate reforms, warning that
corruption can limit companies’ expansion plans.
Singapore again just beat
regional rival Hong Kong as the cleanest economy, although the
latter posted a sharp improvement from its image in 2006.
PERC’s managing director Robert
Broadfoot said this may have resulted in a perception that “the
differences between Hong Kong and [mainland] China are even starker
now.”
Singapore is becoming
increasingly vulnerable to corruption elsewhere, the PERC report
said, citing the soured investment by state-linked investment firm
Temasek Holdings in Thai telecom giant Shin Corp.
The tax-free sale of Shin Corp.
to Temasek by the Thaksin family fuelled the political crisis that
led to the military taking power in Thailand.
Another problem, the report
added, is that foreigners “who have profited from corruption
elsewhere in Asia sometimes seek a haven for their ill-gotten
gains” in Singapore, where rich Indonesian families hold massive
assets.
President Arroyo said the index
was based on “old data” that was no longer accurate.
“Our credit ratings are
fine,” she told Business News Asia magazine. “The political
analysis, they work on old data.
Constancia de Guzman, head of the
Philippine Antigraft Commission, insisted the Philippines was taking
action.
“The government is doing
something,” she told journalists, “but the people want to see
actual results like convictions, dismissals and the like.”
De Guzman admitted that although
she dismissed the recent PERC report it has a downside on the
government’s attempt to advance the economy. “I would not say
that there’s no downside many of these as i said is because of my
popularity, but as I said it’s a price worth paying,” she said.
The President reiterated her
commitment to continue to implement measures that would trim the
national debt following the report of the Bureau of Treasury that
the total debt has been reduced by almost one percent to P3.851
trillion in December 2006 from P3.888 trillion in 2005.
She said the country’s
declining debt proves the government is on track in its plan to
balance the budget by 2008 despite attempts by some quarters to put
the brakes on the country’s economic growth.
--AFP with Sam Mediavilla
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