Think tank outlines criteria on election of new leaders
GOVERNANCE is measured through definite composite indicators, not mere rhetoric, and Filipinos need to elect candidates who actively pursue reforms and build strong institutions to enable the country to recover and eventually thrive in a post-pandemic world, according to a think tank.
In a special study, titled “Governance agenda for development in a post-covid-19 Philippines,” Dr. Francisco Magno, Stratbase ADR Institute trustee and program convenor, pointed out that corruption does not only involve the presence of corrupt politicians but also the presence of corrupt systems.
“Corruption prevention strategies should reduce monopolistic power, limit and clarify discretion, and promote accountability in governments. Corruption could be countered by converting it to a high-risk activity,” Magno emphasized during the recent online forum “Beyond the Crisis: A Strategic Agenda for the Next President.”
He cited the Philippines’s dismal performance—53rd out of 53 countries ranked—in Bloomberg’s Covid-19 Resilience Ranking for September 2021.
“The resulting analysis points to democratic backsliding and weak governance as the main contributory factors to the country’s poor pandemic performance,” he said.
According to Magno, there are six Worldwide Governance Indicators (WGI), and the Philippines fares unevenly in comparison with its neighbors in the Asean region in each of these respects.
“The WGI should guide the candidates vying for the presidency in developing a campaign platform that identifies collective action mechanisms that promote improvements in its composite indicators,” he pointed out.
According to Magno, voice and accountability pertains to perceptions of the extent to which a country’s citizens are able to participate in selecting their government as well as freedom of expression, freedom of association, and a free media. Among 10 Southeast Asian countries, the Philippines is second to Indonesia, primarily because of its being one of the eight founding countries of the Open Government Partnership in 2011.
In terms of political stability and absence of violence/terrorism— which captures perceptions of the likelihood of political instability or politically motivated violence—the Philippine is in ninth place, just ahead of Myanmar.
Magno said the Philippines is also in the lower rung of Asean in terms of government effectiveness, which refers to expediting government transactions.
In regulatory quality, which is the perception of the ability of the government to formulate and implement sound policies that permit and promote private sector development, the Philippines is in the middle of the pack, Magno said.
In observance of the rule of law, the Philippines is ranked seventh, with its percentile performance on a downward spiral since 2016.
Finally, in the control of corruption, which captures perceptions of the extent to which public power is exercised for private gain, including petty and grand forms of corruption as well as capture of the state by elites and private interests, the Philippines is at the bottom half of 10 Asian countries.
According to Magno, the pursuit of reforms and innovation is anchored on building strong institutions for citizen deliberation, participation, and oversight in the exercise of authority and the disbursement of public resources, Magno said.
Furthermore, Magno said the passage of an e-government act could enhance interoperability of data and processes to foster efficiency in the delivery of services.
“This would aid in the pursuit of a whole-of-government approach to manage the interdependencies across areas of government and among levels of implementation among government agencies,” he said.