Irene Kahn, director general of the International Development Law Organization, said: “You cannot fight poverty and cannot promote sustainable development without the rule of law.”
IN September 2015 the United Nations (UN) adopted 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) that established a set of global priorities on how the world can eradicate poverty by 2030. In the Preamble of the UN document—“Transforming our World: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development”—it recognized that “eradicating poverty in all its forms and dimensions, including extreme poverty, is the greatest global challenge and an indispensable requirement for sustainable development.”
The SDGs is the logical next step to the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) that started a 15-year journey in 1990. The MDG set eight goals. Unfortunately, after 15 years, only four of the targets have been fully achieved, the rest remain in various stages of being realized. Good governance and anti-corruption were not included in the list. Fortunately, the SDG included this, a realization that the eradication of poverty cannot be attained without fighting a relentless battle against all forms of corruption in the public sector and in all its echelons.
I take exception to SD Goal 16: Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development; provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels. In particular, 16.5: Substantially reduce corruption and bribery in all its forms. For the first time, the leaders in the UN have finally recognized the importance of fighting corruption in eradicating poverty.
In the many years of research and active participation of Transparency International in fighting corruption in many countries, they have established the direct link between corruption and poverty. They have seen that in countries where bribery is a common practice, progress in achieving the MDG have been slower. Their studies also show that in countries where more than 60 percent of the population paid a bribe in the past year, 38 percent of the population continue to live in poverty in contrast to only 8 percent in those where less than 30 percent paid a bribe. The same correlation can be seen in children not living past the age of 5. For every thousand children, 87 live past five years in countries where less than 30 percent paid a bribe, in contrast to only 14 in countries where more 60 percent paid. The same is seen in children not completing their schooling beyond the elementary level. Only 9 percent complete their schooling in countries where corruption is prevalent, versus 50 percent in countries where less than 30 percent paid a bribe. The statistics go on and on. Also, whenever corruption is high, poverty and conflict go hand in hand. We see it in Mindanao, Samar, Basilan and many provinces where poverty and conflict are widespread.
In 2015 the Transparency International Corruption Perceptions Index ranked the Philippines 95th (first as least corrupt) among the 168 countries and territories surveyed with a score of 35. Of the 10 Asean members, we placed sixth with Vietnam (31), Lao PDR (25), Myanmar (22) and Cambodia (21) worse than us. The least perceived to be corrupt was Denmark, with a score of 91.
In the inaugural speech of President Duterte on June 30, he said: “Erosion of faith and trust in the government—that is the real problem that confronts us.” My take is corruption has caused this erosion of faith in our government. Many presidents before him have manifested the same goals, yet, none that I can remember has ever been successful. I pray he will be the first.
I am not sure whether some of his programs are offshoots of the SDG, but I would like to think that our political leaders are aligned with it. I see the SDG, if successfully attained, will make the country a better place for our children.
The SDG laid down the foundations of how to eradicate poverty and clearly, the fight against corruption should be among the priorities of our President as he rightfully places it. I looked forward with enthusiasm to see that he started immediately after his inaugural speech. My hope is that he does not get caught in the rotten system and that he will be able to relentlessly sustain this fight until the end of his term, for the sake of our country.
E-mail: rbo811@yahoo.com