Saturday, June 07, 2008


GENERAL ESPERON AND PRESIDENT ARROYO'S LEGACY

In a recent issue of the Wall Street Journal, John Hopkins University Professor Brett Decker said that "The Philippine military's second crisis concerns endemic corruption in its upper echelons. Unlike in the United States and many countries where military officers are among the most respectful elites in society, the Philippines' senior officer corps has long been regarded as one of the most corrupt classes in a very corrupt social system. There are many examples of officers taking bribes to let rebels escape, and of military equipment being sold to insurgents who use the weapons against the soldiers for whom they were intended. In its country report released recently, the US State Department listed very low morale, corruption and lack of inter-agency cooperation as institutional factors that undermine anti-terror efforts in the Philippines." This report certainly corroborates with the opinion of Transparency International (TI) when it ranked the Philippines as the 8th most corrupt country in the world, as Malacanang as usual disputed the findings calling it "unfair" saying it is addressing the problem of corruption squarely. How can it when the very heart of corruption has been squatting in Malacanang for several years now? Two more years in office and we could very well be the #1 in its list.
(Image form http://pia.gov.ph)

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