Albert E. Alejo, SJ, PhD Mindanawon Initiatives for Cultural Dialogue

1. Leadership as Stewardship The Challenge of Corruption and the Promotion of Integrity in Catholic Schools in Mindanao Albert E. Alejo, SJ, PhD Mindanawon Initiatives for Cultural Dialogue Ateneo de Davao University, Philippines

2. Let’s Clarify our Social Mission • Human Formation: training of the young who will someday become social agents in the future? • Social Transformation: direct institutional involvement in changing present social structure?

3. Human formation “The ultimate aim of our Catholic education is…that full growth of the persons which leads to action --- action, especially, that is suffused with the spirit and presence of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Man-for-Others. This goal of action, based on sound understanding and enlivened by contemplation, urges students to self-discipline and initiative, to integrity and accuracy. At the same time, it judges slip-shod or superficial ways of thinking unworthy of the individual and, more important, dangerous to the world he or she is called to serve.” (Adopted from Kolvenbach 1989)

4. Direct Action of the School for Social transformation… This goes beyond the hope that someday our graduates will change society. The school, through its instruction, research, formation and extension programs, directly acts in making society a more “just, humane and abundant”. A Catholic school is not an NGO, but it is called to live out its corporate social responsibility. The peace and order, poverty and prosperity of society affect the life of the University. It is not only the students who should become men and women for others. The University itself should be a model agent of social transformation.

5. But there are tensions Some of the problems that schools want to change in society are also found in the educational institutions themselves! Some of the issues that the Catholic Church is fighting against in Philippine society are also found within our sacred temples!

6. Corruption is an age-old problem… Ehem!...

7. Corruption is the abuse of public trust for private gain.

8. PHILIPPINE CONTEXT • Ranked 11th most corrupt countries according to Transparency International • Most predominantly Christian and Catholic country in Asia • Burden of Spanish, American and Japanese colonialism • Two decades of Marcos dictatorship, etc • Some problems in Philippine society, (e.g. “unintegrity” and lack of accountability) are also found in the Philippine schools

9. Present Challenge • Many problems in Philippine society can also be found within our educational institutions. One of them is the practice and tolerance of corruption. • The renewal of society involves a sincere discernment and a strong decision to work against corruption in all its forms, starting from family and schools. • Three challenge areas: 1. Supporting those who fight corruption; 2. Assisting those who feel the need to change their corrupt behavior; 3. Promoting a culture of integrity among students, faculty, parents and alumni.

10. Slide 1 The Challenge of Corruption in Philippine Education

11. Corruption in the Philippines

12. Corruption in the Philippines Common estimates ranging from 1% to 20 % of the country’s Gross National Product, and 20%-30% of our national budget are lost to corruption each year. From 1995-2000, the average annual loss due to corruption is 3.8% of the GNP, amounting to 74 billion pesos to a ballooning 130 billion in 2000. The total losses amounted to609 billionpesos for the six-year period.

13. Corruption in the Philippines The Philippine Government was losing $2 billion a year or a whopping$48 billionin the last twenty years due to corruption, exceeding its entire foreign debt of$40.6 billion.

14. Corruption in the Philippines In the year 2001 a whopping21 billion pesosof the government’s procurement budget of 104 billion pesos went to the pockets of legislators, officials and contractors as kickbacks.

15. 21 billion pesosis: Nearly half of the DPWH’s budget Nearly half of the DILG’s budget Bigger than DOTC’s budget Bigger than DOH’s budget Bigger than DOJ’s budget Bigger than DENR’s budget Bigger than DSWD’s budget About fourth of the DepEd’s budget

16. Corruption and Education

17. Corruption in the Philippines 21 billionpesos a year could translate into: Backlog Solved! 44,716 New classrooms

18. Corruption in the Philippines 21 billionpesos a year could translate into: 1:1 pupil textbook ratio 21 Million New books

19. Corruption in the Philippines 21 billionpesos a year could translate into: Backlog Solved! 4 Million New desks

20. Corruption in the Philippines 21 billionpesos a year could translate into: Computer Lab for all High schools 44,220 New Computers

21. State of Corruption in the Philippines (and Philippine Education) Slide 4 Inquirer (15 April 2005): Fake diplomas and academic credentials now being manufactured, especially diplomas of Ateneo de Manila and Mapua Institute of Technology; the practice is very rampant in South Korea and very popular among South Korean Students. Inquirer (24 June 2005): Fake appointment papers as State University, bearing the signature of Pres. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo discovered by the NBI. Arrested was Abdul Rakim Mutin for misrepresentation and using the faked appointment as president of the Mindanao State University. Inquirer (24 December 2005): The Presidential Antigraft Commission (PAGC) found and dismissed a high government official of the National Commission on Indigenous People (NCIP) for faking his school records, including master’s and doctoral degrees.

22. State of Corruption in the Philippines (and Philippine Education) Slide 5 • Cross-Sectoral Study of Corruption in the Philippines (2002) • Some malpractices in the schools and universities: • rampant cheating in exams and take-home assignments; • plagiarism in theses, dissertations and research publications; • teachers selling school supplies, food stuffs, insurance, and underwear garments in school or inside the classroom, where students are compelled to buy in exchange for favorable grades; • selling of tickets and collection of fees, both of which are now prohibited by the DepEd; • illegal use of PTCA funds (Parents-Teachers-Community Associations); • illegal use of class funds; • teachers and school administrators getting ‘commissions’ from suppliers of school supplies or printing press of yearbooks and school papers; • non-remittance of teachers’ benefits premiums (SSS); • illegal deductions from teachers’ salaries.

23. State of Corruption in the Philippines (and Philippine Education) Slide 6 TI-Global Corruption Barometer Survey (2005): There is an increasing incidence of corruption in many schools and universities worldwide, including bribes to secure a student’s admission to school or to pass university exams, or selling diplomas and other academic credentials. The report importantly noted that such anomalous “practices in schools and universities contradicted basic values of integrity, equity and the public good, and risked perpetuating the problem by fostering a negative perception of authority and institutions.”

24. Facing Up to Corruption in the Campus Slide 10 There is now a recognition of the growing awkwardness that pricks into the concepts of ascendancy and role-models: What happens if corrupt students become professionals i.e. what if cheaters become teachers? What if a bully becomes a policeman? What if a student who keeps on cutting classes becomes a congressman? What if a student who cheats on his stipends becomes a tax collector? The awkwardness is brought about by the many contradictions and alarming implications that are easily the result of the problems of corruption beginning in the school campus.

25. Church as part of problem • ‘There's a whole history to show that the Church, though part of the solution, is also part of the problem -- probably more the second than the first. It's a Church, quite incidentally, that is itself cleaved into rich and poor, in part involuntarily -- some parishes are poorer than others…As with the society itself, the pocket of wealth and opulence at the top is matched by breathtaking deprivation below, a spectacular divide that doesn't suggest it holds on to values conducive to honesty, or indeed Christianity.’ • —Conrado de Quiros

26. CBCP statement (2003) • ‘Today we point an accusing finger at ourselves…We are aware, too, that in other areas of Church life as in parish financial management, some Church members and leaders, through loose and dishonest stewardship, stray from the path of righteousness and integrity… CBCP “Let Integrity Flow Like a Stream”’ (2003)

27. Catholic Schools • ‘Many graduates of Catholic schools have been successful economically and politically but they have also contributed to the dismal economic and political imbalances existing in our country’ (Plenary Council of the Philippines II, no. 267)

28. CBCP Call for Action • Awareness is not enough…We challenge new groups to organize themselves and address this problem in their respective sectors... We urge all our Catholic institutions, schools, parishes, religious organizations and movements, and the Basic Ecclesial Communities to emphasize value formation, especially in the family, and to throw themselves vigorously into the campaign. We encourage them to use the “Ehem! A Manual for Deepening involvement in Combating Corruption.”

29. Implications for Educational and Family Ministry • We must realign our values formation with good citizenship and good governance. Charity begins at home, but it should not end there! Our homes shall be a school for the kind of love that goes beyond kinship and family ties, but reaches out to social and environmental concerns. They shall be a training ground for hard and honest work, for simple lifestyle, for harmony with nature, for a profound reverence for the value of words and a deep disdain for deception and untruth.

30. The Overdue Challenge: Localization of Corruption Slide 13 What can the schools and universities DO? Help combat corruption in the country by facing up to the corruption in the campuses! HOW? Localize corruption, localize the initiatives!

31. The Overdue Challenge: Localization of Corruption Slide 17 The different facets and manifestations of corruption in the campus:

32. What can be done? Slide 21 Implement initiatives against corruption in the campus. Integration of Formation Programs Early Awareness Program Academic Curriculum Integration Anticorruption Awareness Celebrations Integrity Camps/Youth Camps Watchdog Participation Issue advocacy and Public Relations (PR) PTCA and Alumni Champions External Technical Resource Constituency-Building for Convergence

33. What can be done? Slide 20 Instill citizenship values in the campus; values that serve as building blocks of good governance • Integrity • Honesty • Credibility • Transparency • Equity • Justice • Common Good • Role Models • Ascendancy • Simplicity

34. Integrity “In all areas of national endeavour, there is need for imagination, careful planning, thoroughness, hard work, sweat, integrity, dedication, self-discipline and the willingness to sacrifice all for the common good…. All the funds in the world will be to no avail if we suffer from lack of these intangible forces that make a nation great.” ---Sen. Jovito R. Salonga 2003. The Intangibles that Make a Nation Great

35. APPEAL • “Alma Mater Check” and “Check mate” • Anti-cheating school policy • Review of Sports development • Review of contests and debates • Review of recollections and exposures • Review of alumni programs • Develop a culture of profound respect for words

36. INTEGRITY REVIEW WORKSHOP

37. INTEGRITY REVIEW WORKSHOP

38. INTEGRITY REVIEW WORKSHOP

39. “Upang maitindig natin ang bantayog ng ating lipunan, kailangang radikal nating baguhin hindi lamang ang ating mga institusyon, kundi maging ang ating pag-iisip at pamumuhay. Kailangan ang rebolusyon hindi lamang sa panlabas, kundi lalo na sa panloob!” Apolinario Mabini La Revolucion Filipina (1898)