...the PH corruption rank

PH improves in global corruption survey

byRappler.com
Posted on 12/03/2013

BETTER PERFORMANCE. The Aquino administration rises two notches in the Corruption Perceptions Index. Photo by Ryan Lim/Malacañang Photo Bureau
MANILA, Philippines (UPDATED) – Rising two notches, the Philippines' ranking improved in a global corruption survey at a time when Philippine politicians faced the worst corruption scandal in recent history.

The country rose 11 spots from 105th in 2012 to 94th this year out of 177 countries and territories, in the Corruption Perceptions Index for 2013 that was released Tuesday, December 3. The Philippines also scored 36, a rise from its rating of 34 the previous year. (READ: Corruption: How does the PH fare?)

In 2012, the Philippines jumped 24 spots from 129 in 2011 to 105.

Transparency International, which published the list, said the Corruption Perceptions Index “ranks countries and territories based on how corrupt their public sector is perceived to be.”

Transparency collates expert views on the problem from bodies such as the World Bank, African Development Bank, Economist Intelligence Unit, Bertelsmann Foundation, Freedom House, and other groups.

It then ranks countries on a scale of 0-100, where 0 means a country's public sector is considered highly corrupt and 100 means its is regarded as very clean.

In a statement, Malacañang welcomed the improvement saying the rise reflected the Aquino administration's reforms.

"This year’s improvement continues a trend—in which the reforms put in place result in an increasingly positive and encouraging perception of the country, where improvements are measured not only year-by-year, but by leaps and bounds on an annual basis," it said.

"This improvement is also a measure of the continued confidence of the international community in the Philippines, and likewise contributes to the virtuous cycle of empowerment as Filipinos from all walks of life work together to accomplish permanent change in the country."

The Philippines' better performance came amid protests over the pork barrel, discretionary funds that became a source of corruption.

No less than an Aquino ally, Customs Commissioner Rozzano Rufino Biazon, was implicated in the scam. Biazon resigned on Monday, December 2, 3 days after the justice department included him in a graft complaint filed with the Ombudsman.

The scam involves involves lawmakers endorsing discretionary funds to bogus non-governmental organizations of alleged scam mastermind Janet Lim Napoles, in exchange for hefty kickbacks. It has angered millions of Filipinos who have demanded reform.

'Corruption hurts the poor'

Under the index, Afghanistan, North Korea and Somalia are seen as the world's most corrupt countries while Denmark and New Zealand are nearly squeaky-clean.

Worldwide, almost 70% of nations are thought to have a "serious problem" with public servants on the take, and none of the 177 countries surveyed this year got a perfect score, said the Berlin-based non-profit group.

Transparency International's annual list is the most widely used indicator of sleaze in political parties, police, justice systems, and civil services, a scourge which undermines development and the fight against poverty.

"Corruption hurts the poor most," lead researcher Finn Heinrich told AFP.

"That's what you see when you look at the countries at the bottom. Within those countries, it's also poor people who get hurt the most. These countries will never get out of the poverty trap if they don't tackle corruption."

Among countries that have slipped the most on the group's 2013 Corruption Perceptions Index are war-torn Syria as well as Libya and Mali, which have also faced major military conflict in recent years.

"Corruption is very much linked to countries that fall apart, as you see in Libya, Syria, two of the countries that deteriorated the most," said Heinrich.

"If you look at the bottom of the list, we also have Somalia there. These are not countries where the government is functioning effectively, and people have to take all means in order to get by, to get services, to get food, to survive."

Huguette Labelle, chair of Transparency, said "all countries still face the threat of corruption at all levels of government, from the issuing of local permits to the enforcement of laws and regulations".

The group says that because corruption is illegal and secretive, it cannot be meaningfully measured.
The latest survey "paints a worrying picture," said Transparency. – Paterno Esmaquel II, with reports from Agence France-Presse/Rappler.com


 

...the Azkals goes to AFC Challenge Cup

AFC Challenge Cup Qualifiers: Philippines top Group E as rivalry with Turkmenistan grows

Roy Moore

GMA News

March 27, 2013

 

On to Maldives - the Philippines topped Group E to advance to the next phase of the 2014 AFC Challenge Cup. Roehl Niño Bautista, GMA News Online

With a 3-0 default win from Brunei, an 8-0 thrashing of Cambodia, and 1-0 victory over Turkmenistan, the Philippines won nine points with the highest goal difference of the competition to top their group and the qualification period as a whole. Defeating Turkmenistan for the very first time, the Philippines is now the team to beat come 2014 on the main stage of the Challenge Cup in the Maldive Islands.

With these performances, the Philippines is set to jump to their highest FIFA Ranking ever, possibly within the 130s, when they are released next time. So with a growing rivalry with Turkmenistan, Phil Younghusband back to his scoring ways, seven clean sheets in nine games, but more controversy off the pitch, we dissect the Philippines’ route to the 2014 Challenge Cup main stage.

‘Like a Final’

In the post-match press conference, the Turkmenistan coach, Hojageldiyev Yazguly, said, “It was a very interesting game…I think this match was like a final.” Similar sentiments followed from Coach Weiss who added, “For me, Turkmenistan will be the team to beat again and on neutral soil it will be different.”

Ladies and gentlemen, what we have is a rivalry.

There wasn’t much in this game, and the Turkmenistan coach pointed out, “The last two games against the Philippines, the luck was on our side but this time the luck was with [the Philippines].”

However, this is the advancement the Philippines has made. Turkmenistan was rated 121st in the world in the previous FIFA Rankings, dropping 19 places that month due to a lack of games and the natural cycle, rather than any statement of their quality. Turkmenistan was considered by many to be the best team in the Challenge Cup Qualifiers, as runners-up to North Korea in the previous two editions, and the Philippines went and beat them.

Whatever you think of the style of play, who should or shouldn’t start, how Neil Etheridge wasn’t even among the subs, or the lack of substitutions from those who were on the bench, valid concerns, there is no doubting the progress of this team. Turkmenistan has now been defeated in a continually growing list of countries the Philippines have beaten for the very first time under manager Dan Palami and coach Michael Weiss.

This list includes India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Mongolia, Tajikistan, Myanmar, Palestine, Singapore, and a couple more if you don’t include the Olympic Games forty years ago as full international matches. That list, that progress, and this line-up, is the best the Philippines has ever had. The biggest challenge now is keeping them together.

Phil rediscovers where he put his Golden Boot

Phil Younghusband finished as the leading scorer of the 2012 Challenge Cup, with two more than anyone else, totaling six in that competition. Here, the top scorer of the Philippines scored five goals, again two ahead of everyone else, to take his tally to 33 for his country. It seems he really enjoys playing in the Challenge Cup, and for the rest of the teams left in the competition, their challenge will be to keep him quiet.

In the Suzuki Cup, he hit a dry spell as teams had scouted the Philippines, identified him as the major threat, and bullied him out of the game. It was effective and his only goal came against Myanmar at the start of the second half, in a tournament where he was pushed and elbowed into anonymity.

While this tactic may prove effective again for the other teams in the Challenge Cup, it will be too much of a price for other teams to pay now. Committing two defenders to bully Younghusband would leave space for Javier Patiño, who has proven himself worthy of a place in the starting line-up with a brace in his debut and an enterprising performance against Turkmenistan. That means the Philippines are top dog and can go out playing to win every single game come March 2014.

The only caveat for Younghusband is he got sent off versus Turkmenistan. A yellow card in the first half for deliberately handling the ball was followed by a second for holding onto his man and dragging him back in the 85th minute. He will therefore be unavailable for the first group game in the 2014 Challenge Cup.

Stalwart defense and team spirit

The unsung heroes of the Azkals was their defense. If the defense goes unnoticed, they’ve done their job well and Rob Gier in particularly never put a foot wrong. After the game the veteran Azkal said, “I think today the game was all about the defenders… I think we’ve proved we have all the right ingredients to show we can be a very good team”.

Of the squad as a whole, he said, “When people keep asking about what’s special about the team I keep coming back to it; it’s the team spirit.” And with Rob Gier and Juani Guirado solid in defense, the Philippines have kept seven clean sheets in their last nine games (not including the default win against Brunei).

This has been part of an overall defensive unit where Dennis Cagara and Carli De Murga have thwarted the wing play, offering offensive options too, and seen fourteen clean sheets in the twenty games since the last Challenge Cup. During the Suzuki Cup, the defensive strength came at the expense of the attack, but now the Philippines look much more balanced with, as Weiss said, “the best still yet to come.”

Stadium half-full or half-empty?

On the pitch, the Philippines was superb and has been constantly improving. But off the pitch there is so much more that needs to be done – and a lot of it is just common sense.

The most prestigious tournament in South East Asia, the Suzuki Cup, sold their most expensive tickets for the Final at around P700. Yet somehow the organizers of these qualifiers thought that charging almost four times that amount for some seats was appropriate.

Group D hosts Nepal had an average of 16,000 for their group matches, more than twice the Philippine attendance. The Philippines has the potential to average similar figures quite easily and this would build a sustainable financial picture for Philippine football, something essential for the continued growth of the sport. But if ever decisions like ticket prices here are repeated, it will not only choke the National team, but the UFL and grassroots football too.

Who makes it to the Maldives?

As Group E winners, the Philippines will join the other four group winners for the final stage of the Challenge Cup, namely Myanmar, Kyrgyzstan, Afghanistan, and Palestine.

Turkmenistan made it as the best runners-up while Bangladesh are the second best runners-up and these seven nations will join host country Maldives in March 2014, for the group stage.

Of interest in the qualification stage, 2006 winners Tajikistan and 2008 winners India, who the Philippines beat in the group stage last year to qualify for the semifinals, will not be in the final stage for the first time since the competition began as both finished as runners-up in their groups. With weaker goal differences than Turkmenistan and Bangladesh, it was simply the luck of the draw as those who qualified could rack up the goal difference against Cambodia and the Northern Mariana Islands, respectively.

The Challenge Cup has certainly had its share of challenges so far, and we can probably expect a new and hopefully fairer system of qualification next time around. But for 2014, the Philippines have just put themselves in top contention to win their first ever internationally sanctioned trophy. Come March, 2014, everyone will be looking out for the Philippines. - AMD, GMA News

 

 

...the improving press freedom

Global survey shows positive gains in press freedom in Phl By Jose Katigbak 02May 2012 STAR Washington Bureau The Philippine Star

It said the Philippines jumped in the world rankings to 88th place from 93rd previously.

WASHINGTON – Freedom House gave the Philippines a shout out in its global survey of media independence for continuing to make positive gains in press freedom.

It said the Philippines jumped in the world rankings to 88th place from 93rd previously.

The country also improved its rating to 42 points from 46 points previously after a major decline in 2009 – due to a reduction in violence against journalists, attempts by the government to address impunity and expanded diversity of media ownership.

Of 197 countries and territories assessed in 2011, a total of 66 were rated free, 72 were rated partly free, and 59 were rated not free.

Freedom House assigns a numerical ranking to each country based on the legal environment in which media outlets operate, political influences on reporting and access to information and economic pressures on content and the dissemination of news.

Each country in the rankings receives a score from 0 (the most free) to 100 (the least free) which serves as the basis for an overall press freedom designation of free, partly free, or not free.

Finland, Norway and Sweden tied in 1st place with 10 points each in the latest ranking. At the bottom in 197th place was North Korea with 97 points.

The Asia-Pacific region as a whole exhibited a relatively high level of press freedom in 2011, with 15 countries and territories rated free, including Australia, Japan and Taiwan.

Thirteen countries were rated partly free, including ASEAN members Philippines, Indonesia and Thailand.
Other ASEAN members Cambodia, Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei, Laos, Vietnam and Myanmar were among the 12 countries in the Asia-Pacific region rated not free.

Freedom House is a Washington-based independent watchdog organization that supports democratic change, monitors the status of print, broadcast and Internet freedom around the world and advocates for democracy and human rights.

...the Golden Boot awardee

Phil Younghusband wins Golden Boot award

by Jojo Malig, ABS-CBNNews.com

03/19/2012

 

 

Philippine Azkals striker Phil Younghusband won the Golden Boot award for the most number of goals scored during the 2012 AFC Challenge Cup. Photo courtesy of Neil Etheridge

MANILA, Philippines - Philippine Azkals striker Phil Younghusband won the Golden Boot award for the most number of goals scored in the 2012 AFC Challenge Cup tournament.

Younghusband scored 6 goals in the tournament to lead the Philippines to a historic third-place finish in the competition.

The former Chelsea reserve player opened the scoring for the Azkals in their nerve-gripping 4-3 victory over Palestine on Monday.

His second goal in the match came via a penalty in the 24th minute.

Azkals coach Michael Weiss said he is proud of what his wards have achieved. "I am very proud to be part of this development of Philippines' football and I look forward to it continuing."

"I also want to take the opportunity to thank all our fans in the Philippines, in the Gulf, in Europe and all over the world who have supported us. Without them, what we have achieved would not have been possible," he told the-afc.com in a post-match interview.

The German gaffer said he also did not expect the third-place match to go down the wire. "It was a thriller. A do-or-die game and we were lucky in the end."

"Overall, I think we deserved to finish third and I thank my players for their never-say-die attitude," he said.
Other members of the Philippine Azkals were also on cloud 9 with their victory over Palestine.

"Maraming salamat po sa pagsubaybay nyo sa aking twitter updates. Masaya ako na nakapaglaro ulit ako para sa Pilipinas at naka-3rd place kami," goalkeeper Neil Etheridge said.

"Salamat sa lahat na sumusuporta sa team. So proud of you," Chieffy Caligdong said.

"Another amazing achievement from this amazing team. We thank all those who contributed along the way and for everyone's wonderful support," Rob Gier said.

"That match was our Final and we ended with a bang! Great achievement to come home with a bronze. So damn proud!" said Aly Borromeo.

"Tanggapin nyo ang taos puso naming pasasalamat sa inyo sa walang sawa nyo na suporta sa amin! Mabuhay ang Pinoy!" Ian Araneta said.

The Azkals also received praise from Palestinian football fans on social media site Twitter.

"Philippines has improved tremendously in 12 months. Not just saying that because they put 4 past us- their play is a lot more nuanced," said @FutbolPalestine. "Thought the fourth goal was absolutely superb from Philippines. Beautiful overlapping play really shows how far they've come."

"Quite obvious today that Philippines was hungrier, angrier. Congratulations Azkals on the third place finish. See you at Challenge Cup 2014!" @FutbolPalestine added.

Azkals fans, meanwhile made a public show of support by gathering at the Manila Peninsula Hotel in Makati on Monday night.

Two members of the group stepped into the hotel's large outdoor fountain bearing the Azkals flag as the rest cheered on.

North Korea won the tournament by beating Turkmenistan, 2-1, in a tightly fought final on Monday.

...the Azkals drive

Azkals make history in victory over Tajikistan

 

By Dennis Gasgonia,

ABS-CBNnews.com

03/13/2012

 

 

Phil Younghusband scores a goal against Tajikistan.

MANILA, Philippines (1st UPDATE) – The Philippine Azkals continued their Cinderella run in the 2012 AFC Challenge Cup by barging into the semifinals with a historic win over Tajikistan on Tuesday.

The Philippine side toppled another former champion in Tajikistan, 2-1, at the Halchowk Stadium in Kathmandu to catch the last ride for the Challenge Cup semis.

Phil Younghusband and Angel Guirado scored the crucial goals in the 53rd and the 80th minute of the game to bring the Azkals to the next round.

With the win, the Azkals achieved their initial target of duplicating the same feat they attained in the 2010 Suzuki Cup.

“We've always wanted to go to the semis. This is the first time that the Philippines have actually entered the final stage,” Azkals team manager Dan Palami said.

This was the second straight win by the Azkals against a former Challenge Cup champion.

Prior to their game against the Tajiks, the Filipinos pushed 2008 titlist India out of contention with a 2-0 beating last Sunday.

Surprise in first half

Although Tajikistan enjoyed more ball possessions in the first half, the Filipinos were consistent in attacking the Tajiks’ goal.

Younghusband, who scored two goals against India, had attempts in the 2nd and 8th minute.

Guirado also struck a header in the 28th minute, but his shot sailed over the crossbar.

The Tajiks, however, pulled off a stunner in first-half injury time when an Alexey-Negmatov-header went through the Azkals' goal line.

The Filipinos appealed before the referees, but game officials ruled in favor of the Persian Lions and gave them a 1-0 advantage over the Azkals.

Fightback

Minutes into the second half, the nationals fired back at their Central Asian counterparts.

Younghusband equalized the game for the Philippines by scoring a goal off a pass from Guirado.

This leveled the score to 1-1 in the 53rd minute.

After failing to convert a goal in the 78th minute, Guirado pushed the Philippine side to a 2-1 lead against the Tajiks with a header in the 80th minute.

The Persian Lions tried hard to equalize the game, but they fell short in the face of the Azkals’ defense.

The Philippine side was the more aggressive team, with 14 shots at the goal against Tajikistan's 7.

This forced the Tajik keeper to work extra hard with 11 saves, compared to Neil Etherdige's 2 saves.

The Azkals also had 7 shots on target compared to the Tajiks' 5.

The Philippines will join defending champion North Korea, Turkmenistan and Palestine in the semifinal round.

The Azkals earned a qualification in the 2012 Challenge Cup final group by carving out a sensational 3-0 win over Mongolia in March 2011.

Semifinals

The Philippine Azkals will now have to go through 2010 runner-up Turkmenistan to earn a ticket in the Challenge Cup finals.

The two teams will square off on Friday.

The Azkals appear to be the stronger team on paper as they enjoy a higher FIFA ranking than Turkmenistan.
In the FIFA rankings, the Philippines is No. 156, while Turkmenistan is ranked 166th.

However, the Azkals will have to play the semifinal match minus 2 key players.

Guirado and James Younghusband each incurred their second yellow card in the Tajikistan game.

The two Azkals were also penalized during the Philippines’ skirmish against India.

Team coach Michael Weiss is expected to make adjustments to fill in the void left by James and Guirado.

Although making it to the semis was the team’s initial goal, Palami said the Azkals are ready to push their campaign toward the the Challenge Cup finals.

“If we make it to the finals, that will be a dream come true," he said. 

...the corruption perception index

PH ranking improves in corruption index

 

By Cathy Rose A. Garcia,

abs-cbnNEWS.com

12/01/2011

 

 

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippines' ranking among the world's most corrupt countries improved slightly, based on the 2011 Corruption Perception Index (CPI) released by Transparency International on Thursday.

 

The Philippines came in at 129 with a 2.6 CPI in Transparency International's list that ranks 178 countries and territories based on how corrupt their public sector is perceived to be.

This is better than the Philippines' 134th ranking in 2010 with a 2.4 CPI. The CPI score indicates the perceived level of public sector corruption on a scale of 0 - 10, where 0 means that a country is perceived as highly corrupt and 10 means that a country is perceived as very clean.

“This year we have seen corruption on protestors’ banners be they rich or poor. Whether in a Europe hit by debt crisis or an Arab world starting a new political era, leaders must heed the demands for better government,” said Huguette Labelle, Chair of Transparency International, in a statement.

The Philippines 129 ranking puts it at the same level as Honduras, Dominican Republic and Syria.
But this is the Philippines' highest ranking since 2007 when it ranked 131st with a score of 2.5. In 2010 and 2009, the Philippines had a score of 2.4, showing virtually no improvement in the corruption index.

President Benigno Aquino assumed power last year on a platform of good governance and anti-corruption, and has been actively pursuing electoral sabotage and corruption cases against his predecessor Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

Among 35 Asia-Pacific countries in the list, the Philippines is still perceived as one of the most corrupt, ranking 25th.

Most corrupt, least corrupt

North Korea, along with Somalia, was judged as the most corrupt not just in Asia but in the world.
"There are no checks and balances in North Korea, no public accountability and total political control of the judiciary. And on top of that, civil society as we know it does not exist there," TI Managing Director Cobus de Swardt told Reuters.

Most worrying, he said, was that high levels of corruption fundamentally undermine food distribution, painting a grim picture for North Korea, where the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) has warned of a coming "nutrition crisis".

About two thirds of countries ranked in the index this year scored 5.0 or less.

Other Asia-Pacific countries perceived as highly corrupt are Myanmar (180), Myanmar (180), Afghanistan (180), Cambodia (164), Nepal (154), Papua New Guinea (154) and Laos (154).

On the other hand, New Zealand was judged as the "least corrupt", topping the list with a 9.5 CPI. The top 5 also included Denmark (2), Finland (2), Sweden (4) and Singapore (5). - with Reuters

...the Cardinal choir

Mapua Cardinal Singers win in Asian choir contest

abs-cbnNEWS.com

08/07/2011

 

 

The Mapua Cardinal Singers won the gold diploma for their overall performance at the Hong Kong International Youth and Children's Choir Festival held last July 18 to 19. Photo courtesy of Mapua

MANILA, Philippines - The Mapua Cardinal Singers made their school and country proud after winning at the Hong Kong International Youth and Children's Choir Festival (HKIYCCF) held last month.

They bagged the gold diploma for their superb overall performance at the event held last July 18 and 19, beating 60 Asian and 2 Philippine choral groups.

They also won gold and silver awards fro the Folklore and Youth Choir categories, respectively.

"Apart from our passion for choral music, as Mapua Institute of Technology (MIT) goes global, we also have to step up to be known internationally. This belief led us to the decision of joining more international competitions such as the HKIYCCF," said John Ramiel Feliciano, who sings Bass 2 in the group.

"We are delighted to bring honor not only to our institute but also to our country."

The Mapua Cardinal Singers trained for 4 months for the HKIYCCF, MIT said. They previously won gold diplomas and olympic silver medals at the 4th World Choir Games in China in 2006, and gold prizes at the 3rd A Voyage of Songs International Choral Festival in Thailand in 2007.

They consider the HKIYCCF the biggest event they have joined so far. The said competition was first organized in 2006 and has been participated in by choirs from Estonia, Romania, United States, Congo, South Africa, China, Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Chinese Taipei, the Philippines, North Korea, New Zealand and Macau.

Meanwhile, the Mapua Cardinal Singers are now preparing for the Takarazuka International Choral Competition, which will be held in Japan in July next year.