A FEW years ago, the World Economic Forum, along with Transparency International, Political and Economic Risk Consultancy and other institutions saw the Philippines as one of the most corrupt countries in the world.
Corruption makes environmental destruction possible. The higher the level of corruption, the greater the destruction of the environment; likewise, the lower the level of environmental sustainability.
Previously ranked as one of a few countries with the most diverse ecosystems, the Philippines is now facing serious environmental issues.
Last month, it was the fifth anniversary of the six-month closure of Boracay Island for a massive cleanup. Of course, the improvement has been dramatic, but the work is not yet completely done.
But what happened to the supposed criminal and administrative charges filed against government officials responsible for the degradation of Boracay due to sins of omission and commission?
Corruption makes environment laws unenforceable and violators to get away with their crimes. The “old” Boracay is sad example of this. It is fervently hoped that we have learned valuable lessons from what happened to it.
The environment sector is a major source of corruption as well as political patronage. The plunder of natural wealth has been the material base of oligarchic politics that promotes and practices corruption. It is where the most coveted resources are, and it is where the money is.
The large-scale exploitation and extraction of the country’s natural wealth, especially timber and mineral resources, teems with corruption involving bureaucrats, powerful politicians and their cronies, on the one hand, and transnational corporations and their local partners, on the other. Many trans-national corporations whose mining operations have been banned or restricted in other countries because of pollution are willing to shell out bribe money in the Philippines allowing them to invest in mining exploration, extraction, and exportation while evading tight environment evaluation, monitoring, or even litigation.
Corruption has led to the depletion of the country’s natural resources ranging from deforestation, soil erosion, water resource degradation, defertilization, crop damages, siltation, increased water turbidity, and air pollution. All these threaten the country’s food security.
It is the invisible hand of corruption which makes this development aggression more expeditious. It is this same hand that protects profitable ventures, beneficiaries of corruption, and the wanton destruction of the environment at the expense of communities.
