News Roundup 01 February 2023
Feb 01, 2023 • 3 min Read
PH inches up in corruption index but low score persists | INQUIRER.NET – MANILA, Philippines—The Philippines saw a slight rise in ranking in an international corruption index, inching up a notch to 116th among 180 countries but retained low scores in perception of corruption in government.
In the 2022 Corruption Perception Index (CPI) of anti-corruption watchdog Transparency International, the Philippines landed on the 116th spot—higher than its previous rank of 117th in 2021.
Still, the Philippines maintained a low score of 33 out of 100. A country’s score, according to Transparency International, is the perceived level of public sector corruption on a scale of 0-100, where 0 means highly corrupt and 100 means very clean.
The average CPI score is 43 out of 100, the report noted.
Full Story at: PH inches up in corruption index but low score persists | Inquirer News
Escudero says Senate, House versions of Maharlika Investment Fund bill won’t prosper | INQUIRER.NET – MANILA, Philippines — Sen. Francis Escudero said that the current Senate and House versions of the proposed Maharlika Investment Fund law are not up to par and need further modifications before they can pass in the upper chamber.
In an interview at the Senate on Wednesday, Escudero revealed that if the voting on the bill were to happen now, he would cast a negative vote.
“Hindi papasa sa Senado, sa paniniwala ko, sa bersyon na kasalukuyan nating nakikita na pinasa at nanggaling sa kamara,” Escudero said after the hearing of the Senate committee on banks, financial institutions and currencies.
(The current bill that we are seeing and the one that came from the House will not be approved in the Senate, in my opinion.)
Full Story: Escudero says Senate, House versions of Maharlika Investment Fund bill won’t prosper | Inquirer News
Review to proceed after nearly all PNP execs file courtesy resignations | PHILSTAR.COM – MANILA, Philippines — The lone senior police official who refused to submit a courtesy resignation will not face any sanctions but will have to explain the failure to comply with the government’s request and could still be investigated for links to the illegal drug trade.
The deadline to file the courtesy resignations that Interior Secretary Benhur Abalos Jr. appealed to police colonels and generals to file was on January 31.
Those who filed theirs have agreed to undergo a review by a five-member panel that will check them for links to the drug trade and have them resign from their posts if the advisory group recommends it and if the National Police Commission that will review the recommendations agrees.
“According to him, that’s his personal prerogative,” Police Gen. Rodolfo Azurin Jr., Philippine National Police chief, said at a Palace briefing. He said that the police will respect the unnamed police official’s decision, “but, of course, we will find out why he refused.”
Full Story at: Review to proceed after nearly all PNP execs file courtesy resignations | Philstar.com
Metro Manila’s mayors approve unified ‘ticketing system’ vs traffic violators | PHILSTAR.COM – MANILA, Philippines — After 28 years, the Metro Manila Council has approved a ticketing system standardizing fines and penalties against errant motorists across the National Capital Region.
The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority shared the news Wednesday after Metro Manila mayors agreed on the Metro Manila Traffic Code of 2023. Once rolled out, apprehended motorists can pay for traffic-related violations wherever, regardless of the city they were apprehended in.Full Story at: Metro Manila’s mayors approve unified ‘ticketing system’ vs traffic violators | Philstar.com
