COTANGENT - Articles by Daphne Cardillo |
|
COTANGENT
By Daphne Cardillo
Corruption is a quicksand
Corruption in the government has gone a long, long way – from being
illegal, to immoral, to obscene, and now to a dangerous level.
What Rodolfo Noel “Jun” Lozada Jr. at the Senate blue ribbon
committee hearing revealed that in government projects, 22% of the
budget goes to commission “is the norm” tells of a very critical
situation.
If
the budget is rightly priced then 22% of the money is laid to waste –
not on labor, or materials, or managerial expertise, or human talent;
and the finished project would be substandard.
On the other hand, if the budget is overpriced then the money
which is most of the time a foreign loan would translate to an external
debt, and will come back to us in the form of devaluation and
“structural adjustment” in the economy like the E-VAT.
While listening to people in the construction business engaging in
government contracts, it appears that only about 40-60% is actually
spent on labor and materials in the building of infrastructures, after
taxes and profits and other expenses plus the graft money to this
government official and that politician.
No wonder that a concrete road that is supposed to last for
thirty years has cracks and holes in ten years time.
Then the repair that is being done is again substandard with this
culture of corruption that the same length of road would cost double and
quadruple in the long run.
Stealing from government funds has not been confined to big projects but
instead has spread to the procurement of supplies and even in the
conduct of small activities.
One foreign national who once worked here told me a few years
back that the regional head of a government agency had commissions on
the food catering service during conferences and other functions.
I never realized that it has gone to that extent.
In
the late 80s when I was in the multi-level marketing business that was
just starting in Tacloban, I came across a few sales persons who were
selling government forms and other supplies.
That was when I heard of the 10% SOP to be given to whoever the
transaction was done with.
Several years later, I met an acquaintance who was selling books and
complained that a part in the south of
But now it appears, as Lozada declares, 22% kickback is the norm.
If the trend is not stopped then the percentage could go higher
and more and more people getting involved thereby sacrificing efficiency
and quality standards. Besides,
stealing is basically wrong and an unlawful act.
Stealing is getting something one did not earn or deserve; be it
an idea, a time off, or money and property.
And stealing from government funds is just one form of
corruption.
The problem with corruption in government though is that nowadays, most
people don’t know of its nature.
One is not supposed to receive any remuneration from clients --
even just a twenty-peso tip – or gifts of any kind in the conduct of
one’s work. And it is
unethical to give any gifts or money to your superiors or subordinates
for favors asked. There are
more to these guides in professional ethics and some laws that stipulate
the nature of bribery and graft.
But the most important of all is to delineate private and public
property where one is not supposed to use public property for private
use – even just a Pentel pen.
(Try to compute the total cost if all government employees can
just bring a box of Pentel pens each year to their homes for their
children in school.)
Why is there a great lack of internal control in government agencies?
Agencies in the private sector have better controls in their
system and organization.
Even if the government gives social services for those who cannot pay, I
think it can operate like a private enterprise with strong internal
controls – for efficiency, accountability, and quality service.
_________________________________
|
| © Articles in this section are copyright of Daphne Cardillo |