Corruption has absolutely nothing to do with culture and everything to do with political and personal will.
Those who point to traditions and history are simply making the poorest of excuses and are in basic denial by simply refusing to accept personal and collective responsibility for the state they are in.
So says one of the world’s leading anti-corruption experts — Tony Kwok, who spoke at a public forum on Friday at Ateneo de Manila University in Quezon City. As proof, the former Deputy Head of the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) in Hong Kong pointed to the overarching Chinese culture and Confucian traditions in his home town which transformed itself from being one of the most corrupt societies to one of the cleanest.
“We love money and wealth creation and the family to us is everything – but the secret is zero tolerance for corruption.”
The charismatic Kwok took delight in challenging those in the audience who imagined it would take decades for the Philippines to rid itself of the legacy of generations of graft.
In Hong Kong, he reminded people, it took just three years.
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To view the full article by the Philippine Public Transparency Reporting Project, click here.
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