Developing a Corruption-intolerant Society

What is the project about?

Anti-
corruption is the main thrust of the current administration of the Philippine Government. (Photo:
Government of the Philippines)

Despite being a signatory to the United Nations Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC), the
Philippines is perceived as one of the most corrupt nations in the Asia Pacific. Even while it
strives to fight corruption in the public and private sectors, its consistently poor ranking in the
Corruption Perceptions Index—it ranked 101 out of 168 countries in 2016—reveals how trust in
the government is undermined by graft and corruption. In fact, the country's public finance
management and its public service delivery remain vulnerable to corrupt practices and red tape.
A 2014 report by the Global Financial Integrity revealed that billions of dollars in tax revenue
are lost to corrupt transactions in the Philippines every year; on some years, government earnings
lost to corruption was equivalent to 10-20 percent of the national budget.

It is possible to argue that corruption is endemic throughout the Philippine public finance system.
Irregularity has long been affixed with revenue generation, as regressive practices and perpetual
collusion between tax collectors and big businesses have merely widened the level of disparity
between the rich and the poor. Un-programmed appropriations in the national budget – including
the Priority Development Assistance Funds, Special Purpose Funds, and Intelligence Funds –
have been widely viewed as legal sources of funding for corruption. Public expenditure has been
highly vulnerable to corruption, as unnecessary, excessive, and unconscionable spending being a
commonality.
In 2012, UNDP launched Developing a Corruption Intolerant Society, a project with the overall
goal of checking corruption in governance through increased citizen participation in monitoring
government irregularities.

Since then, and together with a loose coalition of civil society organizations (CSOs), we have
continued to support citizens initiatives that promote integrity, accountability and transparency in
the public finance sector, especially at the local level. Using the human rights-based approach,
we have looked at public finance holistically, where each sub-sector is interrelated and linked to
one other. From revenue generation to debt management, we have supported initiatives that
increased awareness, expanded capacities, and supported collective actions of citizens, especially
among women and indigenous people, on the following:

 Linkages (institutional relationships & interfaces) of the different sub-sectors in public

finance; and
 Leakages (corruption, inefficiencies) within the sector that may create an impact on the
quality of life of our communities.

Specifically, this project aimed to mitigate corruption in governance through increased citizen
participation in public finance processes. However, in order to combat corruption effectively, the
project had to reconceptualize the common understanding of public finance closer to that
suggested by its literal definition. In this respect, public finance has to be viewed more than just
the responsibility of government to manage the flow of resources for the attainment of public
objectives. Rather, public finance has to also recognise the responsibility of citizens to engage
and monitor financial processes, so that they themselves are able to hold government officials
accountable to the public interest. It is through this democratic practice of participatory public
finance that the values of transparency and accountability can be upheld, and the quality of
democratic governance can be improved.

To achieve this, the idea that Public Finance is exclusive for financial experts, economists and
academicians must be dismantled. UNDP has worked towards this by strengthening the
capacities of the citizens and organized groups to perform their oversight roles in every stage of
the public finance system, with active participation of youth, women, and indigenous peoples. It
has continued to support the Civil Service Commission in capacitating CSOs to monitor the
implementation of the Anti-Red Tape Act (ARTA) to improve delivery of government front line
services.

More formally, the project intends to do the following:

 Integrate the United Nations Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC) into government
legislation, policies and plans
 Enhance civil society engagement in the fight against corruption
 Promote environmental integrity and accountability

What have we accomplished so far?

From 2012 to 2016, the project has:
  Developed the Report Card Survey (RCS), which provides feedback on the satisfaction of
people with the quality, adequacy and efficiency of government service. The programme
also trained government officials and staff of the Civil Service Commission to use the
RCS and monitor government agencies’ compliance to Republic Act 9485, or Anti-Red
Tape Act of 2007.

 Worked for the integration and implementation of the UNCAC in all government
agencies. In 2014, Executive Order 117 was signed, creating an inter-agency committee
to oversee the review, implementation and monitoring of the UNCAC within government
agencies. Two key institutions—the Department of Budget and Management and the
National Economic and Development Authority—were among the first commit to
integrating UNCAC in their policies and plans.

 Provided documentation services to those affected by Super Typhoon Yolanda. Having

lost personal property during the to the typhoon, including crucial proof of identity, many
of the affected could not avail of much-needed government aid, which required valid IDs.
The project set up quick-action one-stop shops in Leyte for three government agencies
that issue valid IDs: the National Statistics Office, Philippine Postal Corporation, and
Commission on Elections. This effort helped facilitate post-Yolanda Recovery and
Reconstruction efforts.

 Launched the National Solid Waste Management Compliance Program, which monitors
local governments' compliance to RA 9003, or the Ecological Solid Waste Management
Act of 2000. With recommendations from concerned government agencies and civil
society organizations, the Environmental Ombudsman can now prosecute agencies,
officials and employees violating RA 9003.

 Introduced Government Watch (G-Watch) in six sites. G-Watch is an initiative that

teaches and engages citizens to monitor local government spending on textbooks,
schoolbuildings and medicines, and to check the progress on the construction of public
infrastructures such as roads and bridges

 Partnered with the Office of the Ombudsman for the Integrity Caravan, a series of
lectures, forums and university tours to encourage citizen engagement in the programme's
anti-corruption campaign

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Fast Facts
Project Duration
January 2012 to December 2016
Geographical Coverage
Nationwide
Implementing Partners
Office of the Ombudsman, Civil Service Comission, Department of Budget and
Management
Funding Source
UNDP
Total Funding
USD 161,000

Project Documents

 2012 Annual Work Plan