In this episode, Caloy Conde and Walden Bello, a leading activist and public intellectual in the Philippines, dissect the many factors why corruption in the Philippines persists – the kind of corruptuon that Filipinos saw in recent weeks when billions of public works funds were discovered to have been stolen by contractors and politicians. The bottomline: The brazen thievery by contractors, public works officials, and legislators is just a symptom of a larger problem.

HIGHLIGHTS

– Structural roots of corruption in the Philippines driven by neoliberal policies imposed by multilateral agencies like the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund

– Capitalism and globalization have made the Philippines a plaything in the world

– If Filipinos are going to fight corruption, they should put themselves on the line, go out in the streets

– Conditionalities by multilateral agencies prevented the economic development of the Philippines

– With this underdevelopment, industry and agricultural are smashed, when these should be sources of national wealth should be redistributed to the people

– The government becomes an engine of capital accumulation, not public service. This is why the corrupt gravitate to government – because government is the only game in town.

– The result: Severe inequality

– Beyond corruption, Filipinos have to confront the structural forces that create so much poverty and inequality. They cannot divorse social reform from the fight against corruption

– This generation should push things like land reform, not just corruption. And policies to tax the rich, create possibilities for equal income redistribution

– These structural problems allow traditional politicians and corrupt political dynasties to run roughshod over the welfare and rights of ordinary Filipinos. These make it easy for them to steal the public’s money.

(Thumbnail photo: Bagong Alyansang Makabayan)

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