What's On & Expat - Philippines

Vincent Tortalano
American
Pilot


           We should tie them up behind the horse and let them be dragged along the streets of Manila.

Jude Bautista
Filipino
Writer/Photographer


   We do not need anything extraordinary than the laws that we alreadyhave. We have more than enough competent laws to deal with corruption.
    The question is the implementation. It is the whole process of enforcement and the judicial system. If it works, if it is just, then there’s really nothing to worry about. We all know however that this isn’t always the case in the Philippines.
    If we in the Philippines are able to go beyond ourselves and follow the rule of law for the good of the country, it would be a good start. There’s no way GMA [President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo] can be expected to do a Lee Kwan Yew and have the state impose it’s will on the people. She can’t even make any kind of speech without getting attacked by the opposition or the media. It’s all about being able to support the rule of law here in our own country. There shouldn’t be anything more than the full extent of the law to the most corrupt official. When the Supreme Court hands down a decision, for example, we should all respect it. It shouldn’t matter if it’s a former president, a government bureaucrat or whoever.

Mark Sheosmiat
British
Engineering Company Employee

               I’m new in the Philippines. It’s the first time I’ve been here. But I think corruption is a very real issue in any government, in any country. The thing is, we need leaders who have great integrity, leaders we can trust to make good decisions for the country and for the nation. That’s difficult to get, a body of leaders that you can trust. So, with regards to corruption it’s very difficult but I think you have to start somewhere. I don’t know how you’ll solve it in the Philippines but in our country, in England, it’s not so frequent. We don’t have such large scale corruption so we don’t have to face this issue so much. When we do face corruption, it is dealt with fairly radically. A person would have to answer to his crimes and he will be imprisoned if he was found guilty. You have to have justice. It has to be implemented and it has to be fair. How you would do that in the Philippines, I don’t know.
 

Tina Moon
Korean
Employee


   I’m sorry. I don’t have any idea. I really don’t know. I think the courts and the justice system should decide.

Stephanie Maureen Fernandez Asi
Filipino
Entrepreneur and Writer


            These days, more and more government officials are succumbing to the pressures and the “benefits” of corruption. It seems that the problem is not in the form of the government nor the system, but rather the people in the system. It saddens me that the positions bestowed to them by the people are now being used more as a privilege rather than as a form of service. It’s true that it will be difficult to change these usual ways, but I still believe that starting small or starting within ourselves will go a long way, eventually. This may sound idealistic, but it’s still a form of action, a movement towards the goal of eradicating corruption in the government.
 

Dyana Furmansky
American
Tourist

    The Philippines has a reputation in the international community for being one of the most corrupt countries. And if the Philippines wants to have a good business relationship with the rest of the world and progress and excel like other countries in Asia, it must clean up the corruption. How to do that? Tougher laws and stricter fines. I know it is very promising, I know that your current president has been dong very well and has made the country much more acceptable but more has to be done.