Communications Secretary Martin Andanar has decried the Forbes article which claimed that the Philippines has turned into a more corrupt and less democratic state under President Duterte.
Andanar said the article was malicious and undermined the efforts of the administration for the country to progress.
Panos Mourdoukoutas claimed in his Forbes article that the Philippines is getting more corrupt and becoming a less democratic state under President Duterte. He cited the 2019 Corruption Perceptions Index reported by Transparency International in which the Philippines fell 14 notches down to No. 113 from 99th in 2018.
Andanar said Mourdoukoutas’ article is poorly researched and distorted.
“Mr. Panos Mourdoukoutas’ article is nothing but a malicious, poorly-researched, and distorted commentary meant to discredit and undermine the efforts and initiatives of the Duterte administration in fighting corruption and promoting democracy in the Philippines,” he said.
Andara said that the Philippines’ slide in the global corruption index will only motivate the administration more in going after corrupt government officials.
“We will use this as a motivation for us to further improve the initiatives in our fight against corruption. This applies as well to ensuring the protection of everyone’s freedom and rights, as we continue to promote societal interests, growth, and development,” Andanar said. (Argyll Geducos)
