MODULE 1:

UNDERSTANDING
CORRUPTION

"Corruption kills, it victimizes all"

Main Objective:

List the causes and effects of corruption.

Specifically, the module is aimed for participants

to:

Define what corruption is;

Identify why corruption exists; and
Examine the magnitude of corruption in societal
costs.

National Integrity Center

Office of the Ombudsman

WHAT IS CORRUPTION?

The World Bank (WB) and the Transparency International (TI) both view
corruption “ as the abuse of public office and betrayal of public trust for
private gain. It involves behavior on the part of officials in the public
sector. whether politicians or civil servants, in which they improperly and
unlawfully enrich themselves, or close to them, by the misuse of the public
power entrusted to them”.

According to the National Anti-Corruption Framework and Strategy, Graft

is the "acquisition of gain in dishonest or questionable manner.”

Graft – the acquisition of gain or advantage by dishonest or unfair means,

especially through the abuse of one’s position or influence in politics,
business, etc.(People vs Bornales [1968]).

Corruption erodes trust, weakens democracy, hampers economic

development and further exacerbates inequality, poverty, social division
and the environmental crisis.

In all these definitions, government is seen as the arena of corrupt and

corruptible behaviour. The notion should also apply to the private sector
because systems or institutionalized corruption will eventually affect its
relationship and transactions with government.

Exposing corruption and holding the corrupt to account can only happen if
we understand the way corruption works and the systems that enable it.

National Integrity Center

Office of the Ombudsman

FORMS OF CORRUPTION
Bribery - The act of dishonestly persuading someone to act in one’s favour
by a payment or other inducement. Inducements can take the form of gifts,
loans, fees, rewards or other advantages (taxes, services, donation, etc.).
The use of bribes can leads to collusion (e.g. inspectors under-reporting
offenses in exchange for bribes) and/or extortion (e.g. bribes extracted
against the threat of over-reporting.)
Embezzlement - To steal, misdirect or misappropriate funds or assets
placed in one’s trust or under one’s control. From a legal point of view,
embezzlement need not necessarily be or involve corruption.
Facilitation Payment - A small payment, also called “speed” or “grease”
payment. Made to secure or expedite the performance of a routine or
necessary action to which the payer has legal or other entitlement. Fraud -
The act of intentionally and dishonestly deceiving someone in order to
gain an unfair or illegal advantage (financial, political or otherwise).
Collusion - An arrangement between two or more parties designed to
achieve an improper purpose, including influencing improperly the actions
of another party.
Extortion - The act of impairing or harming, or threatening to impair or
harm, directly or indirectly, any party or the property of the party to
influence improperly the actions of a party.
Patronage, Clientelism and Nepotism - Patronage at its core means the
support given by a patron. In government, it refers to the practice of
appointing people directly.

National Integrity Center

Office of the Ombudsman

CAUSES OF CORRUPTION

Weak Moral and Ethical Values

Non-implementation of Severe
Punitive Measures

Red tape and Bureaucratic Delays in

Government

Lack of Understanding about the

Corruption

National Integrity Center

Office of the Ombudsman
CAUSES OF CORRUPTION
1. Weak Moral and Ethical
Values

Weak moral and ethical values is one of the causes of corruption.

This simply means people know what good behavior is, but they
choose to act otherwise.
Corruption may occur when public official's behavior deviates
from the formal government rules of conduct and ethical
standards. Some examples are: a person taking credit for work
they didn’t complete; abusing power to harass someone; or hiring
someone who is a close friend all set bad examples.

This is how the following behaviors can become agents of

corruption:

a. GREED - Intense and selfish desire for something, especially

wealth and power. One of the most common causes is selfishness
to obtain as much personal wealth as possible. This is often at the
expense of other individuals, and even businesses. Individual gains
can take the form of money or power especially when giving
bribes. Ex. (artificial, rapacious desire and pursuit of material
possessions); “This is mine, all of this is mine; I should have all the
power”.

b. ENVY - A feeling of discontent or covetousness with regard to

another's advantages, success, possessions, etc. It is a desire to
deprive other men of theirs; hating other people for what they
have. Because of this, government employee tends to do
corruption in order to get what the others have such as material
things, promotion, influence and power. Ex. “It’s not possible that
he has that and I don’t have that; I won’t allow that my neighbor
has a car and I don’t”

c. SLOTH - Reluctance to work or make an effort; laziness.

Sloth is laziness or a lack of effort, or a slow-moving, When you sit
around on the couch all day and don't make any effort to be
productive, this is an example of being a sloth. It shows
unproductive office hours and ultimately results to delay of
delivery of services.

National Integrity Center

Office of the Ombudsman
CAUSES OF CORRUPTION

This is what goes in almost government offices, example,

government employee spending office hours browsing Facebook
photos, chatting about last night’s episode of KDrama and loafing
in the canteen with friends.

d. LUST - Is the self destructive drive for pleasure out of

proportion to it’s worth. Sex, power, or image can be used well,
but they tend to get out of control. This extreme desire may lead
to corruption by getting it at any means. Ex. Lust for power,
material things and relationship. In order to maintain the pleasure
of these things, one may commit corruption.

e. GLUTTONY - Overindulgence and overconsumption of

anything (food, drink, wealth, entertainment, power etc.) to the
point of waste or abuse. Ex. “I’m so stressed, I need to indulge
myself in lavish buffets even if I’m broke; It wouldn’t hurt to try
the newest hotel with my family using the voucher I received
from my client.”

f. PRIDE- Irrationally believing that one is essentially and

necessarily better, superior, or more important than others, failing
to acknowledge the accomplishments of others, and excessive
admiration of the personal image or self (especially forgetting
one's own lack of divinity, and refusing to acknowledge one's own
limits, faults, or wrongs as a human being). Ex. Some manifest
their pride on wealth, position, properties, luxury items, etc. In
order to maintain this status symbol or personal image, they tend
to abuse their power or use their authority to commit corruption.

g. WRATH - Strong vengeful anger or indignation. Wrath is great

anger that expresses itself in a desire to punish someone. With
this vengeful anger, other may tend to abuse their authority or
position for the disadvantage of others. Extreme anger also
resulted to poor judgement, unfair decision and wrongful act.

National Integrity Center

Office of the Ombudsman
CAUSES OF CORRUPTION
2. Non-Implementation of
Severe Punitive Measures

Poor rule or implementation of law is a contributing factor to corruption.

The probability of corruption might increase if the legal system is unable
to provide sanctions for officials who commits corruption. Another factor
is the slow judicial process wherein by the time the sentence/decision
comes, the crime already is nearly forgotten and the accused
politician/official still enjoys the privilege of a freeman.

Corruption is also affected by the non-transparent or incomplete

legislation, where laws can be interpreted in different ways (for the
benefit of the one who pays).

Non-implementation or lack of laws regulating corruption are also a cause

for the emergence and spread of corruption. A great influence comes also
from the ineffective sanctioning of corruption, which only increases the
possibility of continuing the corruptive actions of those involved, creating
at the same time a strong likelihood that others will join in the corruption
due to this inefficient sanctioning.

Some examples are convicted officials who are either not jailed, has left
the country, or was pardoned and then re elected as government official
(former President to Mayor, former President to Legislator, etc.). In some
cases, the penalty of suspension, fine or dismissal are not implemented by
agencies concerned.

National Integrity Center

Office of the Ombudsman
CAUSES OF CORRUPTION
3. Red-tape
Red tape is an idiom referring to regulations or
conformity to formal rules or standards which are
claimed to be excessive, rigid or redundant.
Transactions often tagged as "red tape" are: filling out
paperwork; obtaining licenses/permits, payments;
having multiple people or committees approve a
decision; so many requirements and signatories; and
various low-level rules that make conducting one's
affairs slower, more difficult, or both.

To avoid long process and requirements, the

public/client tends to offer a "bribe" in a form of
money, gift or favor. This is also called the “lubricating
or grease payment” of the bureaucratic wheel by the
private sector to do certain things faster or easier.

That is why, Red tape or bureaucratic delays has long

been identified as a major cause for corruption.

4. Lack of Understanding about

Corruption
Lack of understanding/knowledge about corruption may lead
to corruption. Others may perceive such acts as socially
acceptable, normal or already embedded in the system but not
realizing that these are already acts of corruption. Lack of
understanding about corruption may foster an environment
where corruption is accepted, tolerated and normalized. This
may also be the reason why government employees are usually
unaware that their actions may be eventually penalized.

Example of common corruption acts perceived as normal,

acceptable and justifiable is accepting gift from client in
exchange for services rendered and considered that as a “thank
you” or "expression of gratitude". This act is a form of
corruption called "bribery" and punishable by law.

Understanding and awareness on corruption laws and violation

is a big factor on corruption prevention.

National Integrity Center

Office of the Ombudsman

WHAT ARE THE EFFECTS

CORRUPTION?

No matter what the excuse is for committing acts of corruption, what is

certain is that corruption will negatively affect the individual, the society,
the economy and the nation.

1. Individual:
No education
Less housing
No healthcare
Poor quality of life

2. Society:
Increase in crime rate – in a society
where the law enforcement personnel
are involved in corrupt practices,
crime will become rampant.
Threat to life and property – we
sometimes do not realize that the
effects of corruption can endanger
human life and property.

3. Economy:
The prices of goods will rise.
The quality of goods will fall and
businesses will suffer losses because
of corruption.
Foreign investments will decrease as
investors lose their confidence that
their investments will bring in profit.
In a country where corruption is
widespread, investors and individuals
who offer bribes will benefit whereas
investors who are not involved in
corrupt practices will move very
slowly and will eventually be
sidelined.

National Integrity Center

Office of the Ombudsman
Ormoc City Flash flood 1991

Corruption Kills
It victimizes All

Ozone Disco Fire 1996 Kentex Factory Fire 2015

National Integrity Center

Office of the Ombudsman

REFERENCES:
What is corruption. (2021). Transparency International.
https://www.transparency.org/en/what-is-corruption#

Department of International Development. (2015, January). Why corruption

matters: understanding causes, effects and how to address them. The
Department for International Development: leading the UK Government’s fight
against world poverty.
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/syste
m/uploads/attachment_data/file/406346/corruption-evidence
paper-why-corruption-matters.pdf

UNODC. (2019). Public Sector Corruption. UNODC The Doha Declaration:

Promoting a Culture of Lawfulness.
https://www.unodc.org/e4j/en/anti-corruption/module-4/key
issues/causes-of-public-sector-corruption.html

DOMÈNEC MELÉ. (2014, November 6). Corruption: 10 Possible Causes. IESE

Business School University of Navarra.
https://blog.iese.edu/ethics/2014/11/06/corruption-10-possible causes/

Stefan Sumah. (2018, February). Corruption, Causes and Consequences.

InTechOpen.
https://doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.72953

Mihaly Fazekas. (2017, July 21). Red tape, bribery and government favouritism:
evidence from Europe. Springer Link.
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10611-017-9694-2

American Psychological Association (APA). (2013). The Seven Deadly Sins.

https://www.apa.org/monitor/2013/12/elc-sins

Daniel Clark. (2019, August 2). What are the Main Causes of Business
Corruption? Engage in Learning Kallidus Group of Company.
https://engageinlearning.com/faq/compliance/preventing-bribery
in-business/what-are-the-main-causes-of-corruption/

National Integrity Center

Office of the Ombudsman