Investigating Corruption

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• Investigating Corruption

The Southeast Asian Experience
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Traditionally closed areas of public life have
been made more open and transparent.

• What officials own.
• Corruption in public office.
• How decisions and policies are made.
• How much elections cost.
• Who finances campaigns.

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I. Investigating Assets (the fruits of corruption)

• Comparing asset statements (financial
  disclosures) with actual assets
• Showing disparities between what is declared and
  what is actually owned by examining other public
  records
• Exposing how officials hide assets (through
  dummies) or inflate liabilities (through fake
  loans)

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Investigating EstradaFirst Lead How we began

• We got reports from that fancy mansions were
  being built for mistresses of the President.
  There were persistent rumors of big amounts of
  money being given to the President in exchange
  for government contracts.
• There were reports that mistresses of the
  President were involved in various businesses.

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What we Found from Corporate Search

• Estrada and his families are listed as board
  members of 66 corporations but declared less than
  10 companies in his statement of assets. The
  assets of 14 companies alone total more than P600
  M (US12 M).
• But in 1999, Estrada declared a net worth of
  P35.8M (US760,000) and a net income of P2.3M
  (46,000).

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Land Records Showed
17 Properties worth over P2 billion (40M)
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Paper Trail for Investigating Assets

• Statements/Declarations of Assets
• Property Records
• - Land
• - Companies
• - Vehicles
• Licenses and permits (for businesses, etc.)
• Listings, records of trade and professional
  organizations
• Biographies, news articles, family histories

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Paper Trail for Investigating Assets
Cars in Congress

• Houses
• Vehicles (cars, yachts, planes)
• Jewelry, Clothes
• Hobbies, recreation
• Social affiliations
• Bars, restaurants and shops frequented
• Foreign travel
• Schools of children

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II. Investigating Petty Corruption

• Interviews with victims or eyewitnesses
• Undercover or surveillance-type investigations
• Simple observation
• Participant-observation

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III. Investigating the consequences of corruption
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Corruption in Philippine education

• Payoffs eat up 20 to 65 of textbook funds.
  Because of corruption, textbookpupil ratio is
  only 16 in grade school and 18 in high school.
  The public school system lacks 70 million
  textbooks.
• Under-deliveries range from 30 to 60 of the
  total contract. 3.5 million of 15 million
  schoolchildren do not have a desk or chair.

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Validating corruption in the field
Unfinished Bridge in Abra
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Estimating the costs of corruption

175-garbage can
Sterilizer bought for 29,000 Actual price 250.
Pencils at 2 each
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IV. Investigating Conflicts of Interest Business
Interests of Congressmen

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Databases on line

• ?Assets of officials
• http//www.i-site.ph
• ?Political families
• Political Clans
• Cost of legislation
• Fewer laws, bigger budget

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What types of stories succeed?

• Well documented evidence of scandalous,
  individual wrongdoing in high places especially
  lifestyles
• Sustained reporting on an issue of wide public
  interest e.g. education
• When public is outraged
• When there are reform-oriented politicians or
  factions pushing for change
• Timely release

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What types of stories are more difficult?

• Systemic, instead of individual, wrongdoing
• Complex stories that are hard to explain or to
  document
• Stories that have no fixed constituencies
• Stories that involve conflict of interest and
  other forms of unethical, but not necessarily
  illegal, behavior where the wrongdoing is not
  immediately obvious

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Despite more openness, money politics and
corruption continue.

• The press is generally more successful in
  toppling old regimes than in positively shaping
  new ones.

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Of 100 Filipino journalists surveyed...

• 71 had been offered money by their sources
• 33 said they took the money 22 kept it while 11
  turned it over to their editors

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In Indonesia

• In 2001, 64 state-owned companies and government
  departments set aside 173 million for pembinaan
  wartawan or cultivating journalists.
• Alliance of Independent Journalists 2001 survey
  70 percent of journalists in East Java and 97
  percent in Jakarta admitting to taking envelops
  of cash.

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What needs to be done

• Upgrade research reporting skills
• Provide editorial support direction
• Address issues of ethics and journalists pay
• Ensure access to information
• Protect sources
• Protect journalists