'Senate, House and Customs need a lot of soul-searching'
MANILA, Philippines – Looks like the Senate, the House of Representatives, the Land Transportation Office (LTO) and the Bureau of Customs (BOC) have a lot of work to do.
According to the Social Weather Stations (SWS) 2013 Enterprise Survey on Corruption, the 4 suffered the biggest downgrades in their sincerity ratings in fighting corruption between 2012 and 2013.
The study, which surveyed executives of 951 enterprises across the country, showed that the Senate suffered the biggest downgrade, from +36 or good, to -8 or neutral. The House of Representatives also went from -6 or neutral to -28 or poor, while the LTO went from -26 or poor in 2012, to -32 or bad in 2013.
But it was the BOC, which President Benigno Aquino III vowed to reform in his 2013 State of the Nation Address, that remained the worst perceived agency attempting to fight corruption. From its -46 or poor rating, the BOC suffered a further downgrade of -63 or very bad in the eyes of businessmen.
Guillermo M, Luz, Co-Chairman of the National Competitiveness Council, said the data should be used by these agencies to help institute reforms.
"The Senate, House and Customs need a lot of soul searching," he said on Tuesday, February 3, at the NCC-sponsored dialogue with businessmen.
"Everybody, every agency knows their record anywhere from 7-9 years by now. If I were the head of an agency I would take a look at my agency… and I'd improve," he added.
The 2013 survey, conducted from July 31 to November 29, is the 11th in a series of surveys of enterprises on corruption done by SWS since 2000.
Various estimates show the government loses P250 billion every year to corruption. Upon assuming power in June 2010, President Benigno Aquino III vowed to clean up government and rid the bureaucracy of anomalous contracts. RAPPLER
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