According to Transparency International, less that seven percent of Filipinos believe that the Philippine Judiciary is corrupt. This is a fresh air of confidence and reassurance badly needed by the Philippine Supreme Court, with a sigh of relief, in the midst of the massive perception among Filipinos that the democratic institutions of the Philippine society have been enervated by the culture of corruption on the part of its insatiable and power-hungry political leaders and its graft-infested and incompetent bureaucrats and functionaries since its Post- World War II independence.
Below is the full text of a happy news item from the Philippine Supreme Court website.
Judiciary Least Affected by Corruption
By Erika T. Dy
Only seven percent of Filipinos believe that the Judiciary is affected by corruption, according to the 2009 Global Corruption Barometer, a survey conducted by Transparency International with 73,132 respondents across 69 countries. Transparency International is a non-governmental organization which conducts the only worldwide public opinion survey on views and experiences in corruption.
Other “public officials and civil servants” topped the survey, with 35 percent of Filipinos believing that they are the most affected by corruption. Political parties and the legislature followed suit with 28 percent and 26 percent, respectively of Filipinos believing that they are affected by corruption.
Chief Justice Reynato S. Puno attributes this opinion of the courts to the Judiciary’s relentless efforts in cleansing its ranks.
Just last May, the High Court suspended a Quezon City Sheriff who was found to have received a sum of money to enforce the execution of a writ without having made an estimate and without securing prior approval of the court.
Earlier this month, a Clerk of Court was also dismissed from the service after she was found guilty of grave misconduct, gross neglect of duty and gross dishonesty when she was caught receiving money from a complainant in a legitimate entrapment operation and found to be remiss in the performance of her administrative duties, while a Zamboanga City Judge was slapped with a PhP40,000 fine after he was found guilty of gross inefficiency and gross misconduct for failing to decide a number of cases despite directives from the Court to do so.
Also this month, a Sheriff from Calubian, Leyte was also dismissed from service, for falsification of an official document and abusing his public authority.
Efforts, such as the Strengthening the Integrity of the Judiciary (SIJ) Project, to restore the credibility of the Judiciary and increase the public trust in it has been a priority under the Chief Justice’s watch.
The SIJ Project is the result of the Integrity Development Review of the Judiciary (IDR), an initiative of the Court to eliminate opportunities for corruption within the administrative aspect of the Judiciary.
The IDR examines the Judiciary’s integrity measures, identifies institutional weaknesses, and assesses the functions of the courts in terms of their vulnerability to corruption. The information gathered is then used to implement effective programs that will guard the courts against corruption.
The Technical Working Group and the Assessment Team of the IDR will be conducting a series of regional workshops around the country as part of its efforts to establish and adopt a corruption prevention program in the Judiciary.
see:
http://sc.judiciary.gov.ph/publications/benchmark/2009/06/060903.php
