Death Penalty For Corruption
The results of an academic study conducted by three (3) professors from the University of the Philippines National College of Public Administration and Governance (UP-NCPAG) showed that Filipinos are suggesting nothing less than capital punishment should be imposed on corrupt public officials. The study on anti-corruption strategies asked students, civil society and members of the academe nationwide for their suggestions on how to solve the problem of corruption in the Philippines.
Following are the recommendations as embodied in the UP-NCPAG report titled “From Pinoys To PNoy“:
- Imposition of the death penalty on crimes involving corruption.
- Enactment of an Omnibus Anti-Corruption Code as a guidebook.
- Establishment of parameters in the budget allotted to support anti-corruption agencies and programs at the local and national levels.
- Enactment of comprehensive law protecting whistleblowers and awarding them a share of the corruption money they divulge as an incentive.
The study also concluded that initiatives to fight corruption over the years failed to prosper because they were viewed as the responsibility of the government. As such, the public just watch, kibitz and criticize the corruption happening around them. If I may add, some people even take graft as part of governance and abet such detestable practice by giving bribe when dealing with corrupt government employees and officials.
While those surveyed apparently know that death penalty is not the maximum penalty for heinous crimes committed in our country, the suggestion to impose it on corrupt government officials only shows how much the people abhor the crime. On the other side, we must take note that the battle against the cancer of systemic corruption cannot be resolved by government alone. We must participate in fighting corruption. We should be part of the solution and not be part of the problem.
It’s about damn time we hang these crocodiles in barongs and suits! No more, no less!
While corruption is by no means trivial, it doesn’t warrant the death penalty.
I’d feel less inclined to report corruption if I knew the death penalty was a possibility.
Corrupt officials would go to greater lengths to cover their crimes.
Thank goodness it will never become a reality.
Hi John,
Thanks for the visit and the comment. You are correct, death penalty would not deter corruption. The criminals would just be more sophisticated to avoid detection.
The death penalty may not stop corruption, but it reduces the number of corrupt public officials in office… That’s at least a start….