| RP 8th most corrupt, says report |
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| Monday, 02 July 2007 | |
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AN INTERNATIONAL group has ranked the Philippines as the eighth most corrupt country in the world—down from ninth last year—in a study that covered 163 countries.
In its Global Corruption Report 2007, Transparency International also ranked Haiti as the world’s most corrupt country while Finland, Iceland and New Zealand tied in first place as the world’s least corrupt. The group ranked Singapore as the third least corrupt county next to Denmark. Iceland was the least corrupt last year followed by Finland and New Zealand.
The Global Corruption Report 2007 focused on corruption in judicial systems.
Transparency says a corrupt judiciary erodes the international community’s ability to prosecute transnational crime and inhibits access to justice and redress for human rights violations. Corruption also undermines economic growth by damaging the trust of the investment community and impedes efforts to reduce poverty. “Corrupt courts deny victims and the accused the basic human right to a fair and impartial trial, sometimes even to a trial at all,” group chairman Huguette Labelle said. “It is tempting to simply point an accusing finger at judges. The influence of a corrupt judge can be huge… But judicial corruption can extend to all players in the game. Court officials may seek bribes for services that should be free; lawyers may charge additional ‘fees’ to expedite or delay cases, direct clients to judges known to take bribes, collude with judges to lose a case, or even act as intermediaries for bribe-paying. Clerks may purposely lose certain files. Prosecutors may drop certain cases for a price.” The report categorizes judicial corruption into two: political interference in the judicial process by the Legislative or Executive branch, and bribery. The group’s latest global survey of attitudes toward corruption reveals that at least one in 10 households had to pay a bribe to get access to justice in more than 25 countries. In a further 20 countries, more than three in 10 households reported that bribery was involved in securing access to justice or a “fair” outcome in court. Transparency says petty bribery and political influence in the judiciary erodes social cohesion in a society where there is one system for the rich and another for the poor. “If money and influence are the basis of justice, the poor cannot compete,” said Akere Muna, the group’s vice chairman and president of the Pan African Lawyers’ Union. “Bribery not only makes justice unaffordable; it ruins the capacity of the justice system to fight against corruption and to serve as a beacon of independence and accountability,” Muna said.
SOURCE: MANILA STANDARD TODAY by Eileen A. Mencias |
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| Last Updated ( Wednesday, 04 July 2007 ) |
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