Philippines National Defense is at very high risk for Corruption
The Philippines is at "very high risk" of defense corruption, the "Government Defense Anti-Corruption Index 2013" released by the UK arm of anti-corruption coalition Transparency International showed.
This, even as the group's earlier global Corruption Perception Index noted significant improvements for the Philippines--placing it 105th out of 176 countries in 2012 from 129th out of 183 countries previously.
The Philippines landed in the second worst category along with 17 other countries in the report, which noted that nearly 70 percent of the 82 countries assessed have poor transparency mechanisms in the defense sector.
"This disappointing result shows that defense risk in most countries is poorly controlled, with correspondingly high vulnerability to corruption," the report said.
For the Philippines, risks were found highest in terms of political defense corruption, pegged at 45 percent.
"[I]t has been asserted that some members of the government use their powers to influence defence policy as leverage to
secure personal benefits," the report said.
Also high risk areas for corruption are procurement (30 percent) and personnel integrity (27 percent).
"[E]vidence from recent cases indicates that corruption in the defense procurement process has not been adequately addressed," the report said.
In terms of finance corruption, the Philippines was given a 16 percent vulnerability score, and in the area of operations, 5 percent.
"The assessment finds that military personnel are commonly seconded from their official duties to provide private security services to politicians," the report said further.
The Philippines was in the same group in the report as Afghanistan, Bahrain, Cote d'Ivoire, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Morocco, Nigeria, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sri Lanka, Tunisia, Uganda, Uzbekistan, Venezuela and Zimbabwe.
Tagged as "critical" countries, meanwhile, were Algeria, Angola, Cameroon, Democratic Republic of Congo, Egypt, Eritrea, Libya, Syria and Yemen.
On the other hand, among the 82 countries assessed, only two--Australia and Germany--were considered to have "very low" defense corruption risk.
These two countries have both been found to have strong accountability and transparency levels, solid private sector standards, as well as military budget secrecy, the report said.
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