‘Fighting corruption requires cooperation’

Malacañang renewed its call for the people to cooperate with President Duterte's campaign to end corruption which ails the country.

Presidential spokesman Harry Roque issued the statement after the Philippines was ranked 111th of 180 countries in the Transparency International Corruption Perceptions Index 2017, or one of the countries which made little progress in ending corruption.

The 2017 Corruption Perception Index (CPI), released on Wednesday, revealed that the Philippines scored 34 out of 100, slightly lower than the country’s score of 35 in 2016.

This was the country’s lowest score in the index in five years.

The Philippines, alongside India and Maldives, is also listed as among the most corrupt countries in the AsiaPacific region.

New Zealand and Denmark were named the least corrupt countries, with scores of 89 and 88, respectively.

Syria, South Sudan and Somalia, meanwhile, ranked lowest in the index, scoring 14, 12 and nine, respectively.

Complex problem According to Roque, they are taking the said ranking seriously but emphasized that the problem of corrup- tion cannot be resolved overnight.

"We have to underscore that corruption is a problem that cannot be solved overnight; thus, we are taking the results of Transparency International Corruption Perceptions Index 2017, which shows our 111th (out of 180) ranking, seriously," Roque said Friday morning.

"Fighting corruption needs everyone’s cooperation. The government cannot do it alone. Citizens must be vigilant and report corruption," he added.

Corruption warning Roque also said that Duterte likewise issued a stern warning to government officials and employees that he would not tolerate corruption during his watch.

"The Chief Executive fired many government officials, including members of the Cabinet, once he heard even a whiff of corruption," Roque said.

Roque also noted the President's efforts in trying to curb corruption in government, like the issuance of Executive Order No. 43 creating the Presidential Anti-Corruption Commission and opened a citizens' complaint hotline 8888.

One of Duterte's campaign promises was eliminating graft and corruption in government, alongside eradicating crime and illegal drugs, maintaining peace and order, and improving the economy.

Press issues Roque pointed out that the Berlinbased global anti-corruption coalition factored in the protection of the press and non-governmental organizations in its ranking.

"Transparency International even cited that every week at least one journalist is killed in a country that is highly corrupt, which is not the case in the Philippines," Roque said.

"There is no truth that we have fewer press freedom. Our media are still able to broadcast and print or publish what they want – fake news included. Filipinos are free to air their grievances with the President even declaring an unprecedented Day of Protest," he added.

The Palace official also noted how Duterte acted swiftly by creating the Presidential Task Force on Media Security (PTFoMS) to ensure the protection of media practitioners.

Roque, citing records from the PTFoMS, said all murder cases involving journalists during the Duterte administration have been solved.