Speaker disappointed by corruption survey rating

MANILA - House Speaker Sonny Belmonte on Tuesday said he is disappointed with the results of the Social Weather Stations survey on perceived corruption. In a text message, Belmonte said: "I’m very disappointed. I believe the House did a creditable job in the period. The scams then referred primarily to people who are not members of the 15th Congress. We have to work harder." Ten government institutions received a downgrade in scores in an annual SWS survey on perceived sincerity in fighting corruption. Around 951 executives from various parts of the country provided the rating for 24 government institutions, and results showed that the Senate received the biggest downgrade from +36 in 2012 to -8 in 2013. The House of Representatives also received a significant downgrade from -6 in 2012 to -28 in 2013. The Bureau of Customs and the Land Transportation Office also received further downgrades and remained at Very Bad and Bad categories, respectively. On the other hand, the Department of Justice enjoyed the biggest upgrade in terms of perceived sincerity in fighting corruption from -5 in 2012 to +35 in 2013. The Supreme Court's image also improved from +24 to +36. The survey was conducted from July 31 to November 29, 2013. SWS President Mahar Mangahas said highlights of the period involved the PDAF scam, which implicated several lawmakers from both the lower House and the Senate. ANC HEADSTART, February 5, 2014