Introduction
Graft and corruption has always plagued most, if not all, governments across the globe. According to the 2015 Transparency International's Corruption Perception Index (CPI), 68% of countries worldwide have a serious corruption problem. Also, not one single country, anywhere in the world, is corruption-free. CPI is a survey done on the prevalence of public sector corruption worldwide. It ranks and scores the more than 150 participating nations every year in terms of its perceived levels of corruption.
When talking about graft and corruption, the Philippine experience is also one that is very interesting to look at. As a country, it has a long history of graft and corruption paired with erring public servants.
According to
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Graft and Corruption Defined
There is no comprehensive, universally accepted definition of corruption. Transparency International (2016) defines corruption as "the abuse of entrusted power for private gain." It can be classified as grand, petty and political, depending on the amounts of money lost and the sector where it occurs.
The United Nations Convention does not have an official definition of corruption. Rather, it defines specific acts of corruption which include bribery and embezzlement, but also money laundering, concealment and obstruction of justice. According to the World Bank (2000) the term corruption refers to the various ways in which public office is abused for personal
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Though in other publications (World Bank, 2000; Hutchcroft, 1998; PIDS and Philippine APEC Study Center Network, 2006) , the word 'graft' is used interchangeably or together with 'corruption'. The use of the term 'graft' seem to be unique to literature that discuss corrupt behavior and practices in the Philippine setting.
Graft and Corruption in the Philippines
The realization that corruption equates to the abuse of the rights of Filipino citizens to better government services has also sparked many national campaigns and movements which sought to reduce corruption in the country. One of the most historic of these movements is the People Power Revolution in 1986, the iconic peaceful assembly of millions of Filipinos to overthrow a corrupt dictator and restore freedom and democracy to the country.
Just this year, the nation has celebrated the 30th anniversary of the People Power Revolution. But several years after this powerful show of force of the masses, it seemed as if corruption has still managed to sift through the potholes of our national and local
“Corruption, improper and usually unlawful conduct intended to secure a benefit for oneself or another its forms include bribery, extortion, and the misuse of inside information. It exists where there is community indifference or a lack of enforcement policies.”(Encyclopedia Britannica). Today political Corruption in all forms exists in every country in the world. In some countries it is more prominent then in others, but no matter where you go it still occurs. Recently in mid 2013 some political corruption was brought to light in New York. “Since 2007, state senators have been more likely to be arrested then to lose their seats in a general election,” (New York Public Interest Research group). In April of 2013 New York State
Political corruption is a major problem in the US today. It involves almost all levels of government and affects people from all walks of life. Public office is a noble post and citizens put their trust in government officials to carry out their constitutional duties for the benefit of the citizenry. The problem comes in where both elected and unelected officials perform their duties with the goal of personal gain in full view of the law. The ethical and moral wrongs of corruption are unjustifiable in any context.
Throughout history positions of power and wealth have been plagued by corruption, does this power cause people to be corrupt? Or is the power and wealth earned through immoral and corrupt practices? In order to find these answers, one must define what they feel is corrupt, for most corruption is the act of being dishonest or immoral with the motive of personal gains of money or power. There are numerous accounts of politicians, military leaders, business owners, entrepreneurs, and millionaires, all earning or using their power and wealth in an immoral and corrupt manner. Whether money is used for personal gain, used to corrupt others, or the wealth was earned by corrupt ways, it seems that the accumulation of wealth is constantly accompanied by corruption.
Someone who is abusing the power that is given to him or her defines corruption, however, the word in its self is more than a simple idea; it is an intricate network. Since people’s views about ethical and moral behavior affect the way corruption is examined, the word has a slightly different meaning to each person. Additionally, misconduct across various societies is viewed differently due to social and cultural borders. The criminal justice system has had many instances where corruption had affected the outcome of a case and has inserted itself into the legal process.
Corruption is when the Government is bribed by interest groups or corporations so that the bribers’ interests are put forward before the interest of the people. During the Gilded Age corruption in the senate was rampant. According to the political cartoon “The bosses of Senate”- (Progress and Poverty, 324), the corporations were the real entities behind running the Senate. The Senate, as the cartoon shows, is acting only in the interests of the different monopolies that are bribing the senate. However, this does not neccesarily mean that the Government cannot act in the intersts of its own people.
First, it is important to define what corruption is. The term, “corruption” covers a broad range of human actions,
The forms I think corruption can take within a public organization would be the forms of corruption can take within a public organizations is bribery an employee can offer or give gifts to person and incentives to make dishonest decisions. Not many bribes are cash transactions but could be a variety advantages for services like free work holidays or low tenancy fees. Extortion which is a crime of getting money or other valuable goods by the abuse of their office and position of authority. I also see Fraud
Corruption can take many forms and can be found in many countries, but mainly in the emerging ones. The main form of corruption is the bribery in the form of payments demanded by the government or ministry officials in exchange for a favor (granting a service, awarding a business).Corruption affects all the businesses that interfere with the government, but studies have shown that certain industries are more exposed to it. These industries are construction, airline manufacturing, power plants, and oil and gas production.
Corruption diverts resources from the poor to the rich . when politicians don't make decisions to benefit the public ,but rather themselves, this is a corruption .corruption by politicians or public officials is not just an envelope filled with money ,these people make
Ultimately corruption takes away from the total resource pie, which essentially takes away from the common populace. When a nation’s resources are fraudulently diverted, societal development and progress suffer across the board. Accordingly, nongovernmental organizations such as Transparency International concur with this assessment and also depict corruption as an anti-poor mechanism. Hence, corruption feeds into the cycle of poverty in developing nations, leaving the majority of wealth for the elite minority, while the majority of the populace lives in abject poverty. In the end, corruption and poor governance, combined with an abundance of accessible and valuable resources throughout the region provide ample motive for the generation of a power grab.
Corruption is typically defined as dishonest or fraudulent conduct by those in power. Taking a look at the film Shadows of Liberty, corruption is defined with the use of mass media in the United States. The Shadows of liberty website summarized their film as, “In highly revealing stories, renowned journalists, activists and academics give insider accounts of a broken media system. Controversial news reports are suppressed, people are censored for speaking out, and lives are shattered as the arena for public expression is turned into a private profit zone.” (Shadows of Liberty.org) What this film also does is it looks at numerous events and reports of when the media has used their power to influence public opinion or cover up conspiracies. Going into some of the events, one has to take into account of the recent age of technology and how important it has played in the
It would be convenient to start this research paper by stating that corruption is a challenge mainly for businesses in developing countries and that it is unrelated to the current affliction of the economy in the United States. It would also be convenient to claim corruption has declined in America as a result of awareness raising campaigns and the numerous anti-corruption laws. But none of those aforementioned statements would be true. Corruption is not the exception, but rather the rule in today’s business practices. In 2004, Daniel Kaufmann, a senior fellow at Brookings Institution and former director at the World Bank, calculated an index of "legally corrupt" manifestations which is defined as the extent of undue influence
Corruption. What is corruption? Corruption is dishonest or illegal behavior by powerful people, such as government officials
The broadest, most suitable definition which exists today simply states that corruption is any illegal act performed by a politician to produce results which would have been otherwise impossible (Ebbe). In some cases, government, politicians, and criminals entwine for the sake of amassing money in order to secure their own jobs. This form of corruption was apparent in the mafia’s association with the
Corruption is a complex political, social, and economic anomaly that negatively affects developing and developed countries. It weakens democratic institutions, holds economic development, widening the rich-poor gap and certainly leads to governmental instability. The World Bank definition of corruption states that “…the abuse of public office for private gain”.