Malacañang is pleased by the Philippines' minor improvement in Transparency International's global corruption index even though the country remains in the "highly corrupt" category, a Palace spokesman said Wednesday.
"We are happy that we have improved and four months is a good indication that apparently, Transparency International is recognizing our efforts," said presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda in a press briefing.
The Philippines ranked 134th out of 178 countries in Transparency International's Corruption Perception Index for 2010, with a score of 2.4. It was also ranked 26th out of 33 countries in the Asia-Pacific region.
This is an improvement of five places from the country’s previous rank of 139th among 180 countries in TI's CPI for 2009, although the Philippines' score last year was also 2.4.
Lacierda said the improvement of the Philippines' rating shows that President Benigno Aquino III's commitment to stamp out corruption is gradually taking effect.
"We’re just four months old, and the fact that we improved in the ranking says something about our determination to promote good governance. We’ll continue to do our part in the promotion of good governance," Lacierda said.
Aquino, whose electoral campaign was anchored on the "Kung Walang Corrupt, Walang Mahirap" (No corruption means no poverty) slogan, assumed the presidency on June 30.
Lacierda said Aquino's efforts at good governance is not limited to the creation of the Truth Commission that will investigate corruption scandals during the administration of former president Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.
Lacierda said seeking the prosecution of corrupt officials is only one of Aquino’s efforts to fight corruption in the country.
"It’s more of the fact that President Aquino is leading by example. The fact that he is known as a man who is not tainted with corruption speaks for itself, and we intend to do that in our ways to promote good governance," said the Palace spokesman.
Also in the list of "highly corrupt" countries in the index with the Philippines were the following countries: In Asia-Pacific: Indonesia, Solomon Islands, Mongolia, Vietnam, Lebanon, Timor-Leste, Syria, Bangladesh, Maldives, Pakistan, Iran, Libya, Nepal, Yemen, Cambodia, Laos, Papua New Guinea;
In Africa: Algeria, Senegal, Benin, Gabon, Ethiopia, Mali, Mozambique, Tanzania, Eritrea, Madagascar, Niger, Uganda, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Togo, Zimbabwe, Mauritania, Cameroon, Cote d'Ivoire, Central African Republic, Comoros, Congo-Brazzaville, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Congo, Guinea;
In Latin America: Argentina, Bolivia, Guyana, Ecuador, Nicaragua, Honduras, Haiti, Paraguay, Venezuela;
In Europe including the old Soviet Union: Moldova, Kosovo, Kazakhstan, Armenia, Belarus, Azerbaijan, Ukraine, Russia, Tajikistan, Kyrgyztan.Denmark topped the 2010 CPI with a score of 9.3, while the bottom place was occupied by Somalia with a score of 1.1.
The rest of the top 10 included New Zealand (9.3), Singapore (9.3), Finland (9.2), Sweden (9.2), Canada (8.9), Netherlands (8.8), Australia (8.7), Switzerland (8.7), and Norway (8.6).—JV
