The poor incentive framework governing the civil service in the Philippines is another major factor contributing to corruption. During the
SWS September 1998 survey, respondents were asked why graft and corruption happens in the government.
The three top reasons cited were:
- to be richer;
- their salaries are not enough; and
- difficulties of life today.
These are indications that values formation in civil service is lacking.
With this in mind, restructuring the civil service to reinforce merit and to provide adequate financial compensation and accountability for performance is recommended as a key element in a national anticorruption program.
Some of the actions suggested in this area are:
• limiting the scope for patronage in public employment by depoliticizing the civil service and strictly regulating the use of casual and other contractual workers
• decompressing the government pay scale to provide competitive salaries up to senior levels
• strengthening performance evaluation, implementing related awards and sanctions, and enhancing meritocracy in appointments and promotions.