By ERICKSON BECO March 30, 2010, 5:20pm
Original Story: http://mb.com.ph/articles/250386/corruption-still-rp-s-number-1-headache-mb-poll
Corruption emerged as the top priority that Filipinos want the would-be Philippine President to tackle first once elected to the post after the May 10, 2010 automated polls.
The problem of corruption has overshadowed many of the country’s other concerns, according to the results of the recently concluded survey by Manila Bulletin (MB) Online.
With 61 percent (8,342 votes) of web visitors voting for it, corruption emerged as the top priority that Filipinos want the would-be Philippine President to tackle first once elected to the post after the May 10, 2010 automated polls.
The survey, which asked netizens “what specific problem would you want the next Philippine president to address first?” garnered a total of 13,717 votes, as of 3 p.m. of March 30, 2010.
The other choices were, based on the number of votes accumulated)
* Unemployment, 23 percent (3,103 votes);
* Education, 7 percent (1,030 votes);
* Hunger, 5 percent (659 votes);
* Budget allocation, 3 percent (359 votes), and;
* National defense, 2 percent (245 votes).
The pressing need to address the problem on corruption has been underscored by actions of social sectors in the country today.
“Corruption is an old, old problem in our culture, and not just institutions, which extends to our political and civic lives,” said Deputy Presidential Spokesman Gary Olivar, in reaction to the results of an earlier survey, conducted by the Hong Kong-based consultancy firm Political and Economic Risk Consultancy (PERC), ranking the Philippines as the fourth most corrupt nation in Southeast Asia.
Presidential Anti-Graft Commission (PAGC) chairperson Constancia de Guzman said perceptions about corruption in the country are highlighted due to the political bickering during the election period.
De Guzman, in a radio interview, said candidates have thrown corruption charges against their opponents in an attempt to destroy their chances in the polls.
“Those who engage in mudslinging do not realize that while the act might help them gain more votes in May, it is giving the country a bad reputation internationally," she said.
Meanwhile, web users are invited to actively participate in the new poll question to be posted at the MB Online homepage with the question: “Who will you vote as president in next month’s national elections?”
Original Story: http://mb.com.ph/articles/250386/corruption-still-rp-s-number-1-headache-mb-poll
Perhaps we should start asking questions about the big picture...
ReplyDeleteDo we need a Referendum For A New Democracy?
Are you concerned about the future of democracy? Do you feel democracy is under attack by extreme greed in countries around the world? Are you sick and tired of: living in fear, corporate greed, growing police state, government for the rich, working more but having less?
Can we use both elections and random selection (in the way we select government officials) to rid democracy of undue influence by extreme wealth and wealth-dominated mass media campaigns?
The world's first democracy (Athenian democracy, 600 B.C.) used both elections and random selection. Even Aristotle (the cofounder of Western thought) promoted the use random selection as the best way to protect democracy. The idea of randomly selecting (after screening) juries remains from Athenian democracy, but not randomly selecting (after screening) government officials. Why is it used only for individual justice and not also for social justice? Who wins from that? ...the extremely wealthy?
What is the best way to combine elections and random selection to protect democracy in today's world? Can we use elections as the way to screen candidates, and random selection as the way to do the final selection? Who wins from that? ...the people?