|
By Katrice R. Jalbuena, Reporter
The Department of Health (DOH) ranks as the best
performing government agency in terms of corruption prevention and
integrity development among 11 government agencies in the country, a
joint study with the Asian Development Bank (ADB) showed.
The results of the second cycle of the Integrity
Development Review, a 2007 report jointly conducted by the ADB, the
Development Academy of the Philippines and the Office of the
Ombudsman, showed the DoH was rated the “best performer” among
11 public sector agencies in terms of corruption prevention and
integrity development.
“This is a good start for this year and we are
inspired even more to institute reforms in the bureaucracy that will
prevent corruption and enhance DoH performance in exercising clean
and good governance,” Health Secretary Francisco Duque 3rd said.
The review is the Ombudsman’s response to its
mandate to prevent corruption in the government. It entails a
systematic assessment of the agency’s corruption-resistance
mechanisms and its vulnerabilities to corruption.
The agencies in the report were selected based
on their being revenue-generating, high-procuring, and having big
infrastructure projects.
Besides the Health department, the other
agencies that participated in the review are: Department of
Environment and Natural Resources; Dept. of National Defense; Dept.
of Budget and Management; Dept. of Agrarian Reform; Light Rail
Transit Authority; Land Registration Authority; Bureau of
Corrections; Bureau of Fire Protection; Armed Forces of the
Philippines; and the National Irrigation Administration.
Based on the said factors, it was found that the
general rating of 1 in most participating agencies reflected
adherence to the barest minimum standards required by law.
The DoH got the highest rating of 3 in terms of
leadership, human resource management, performance management,
procurement management and managing interface with the external
environment. A score of 2 was also given to the Health department
for financial management and corruption risk management.
“We are proud that only [the] DoH had ratings
of 3 in at least five of the 10 parameters, meaning our adherence to
antigraft measures is beyond the minimum requirements and manifests
our sincerity in fighting corruption,” Duque explained.
The Presidential Anti-Graft and Corruption
Commission also revealed that the Health department was the second
most compliant agency in implementing its Integrity Development
Action Plan for 2007.
The action plan involves projects and activities
focusing on systems improvement, values formation and moral recovery
aimed at eliminating graft in government agencies.
|
