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ANNEX A

SAMPLE LETTER TO THE RESPONDENTS

Republic of the PhilippinesDepartment of Philosophy

College of Social Sciences and Humanities

Mindanao State UniversityMarawi City

December 2!!

Dear Sir"Madam#

$reetings of Peace%

&he undersigned is ta'ing up (achelor of )rts in Philosophy in the College ofSocial Sciences and Humanities# Mindanao State University# Marawi City*

&he researcher is conducting an undergraduate thesis regarding the newperspective in understanding political corruption in the course Philo !++,undergraduate thesis-*

.n line with this# . would li'e to conduct an interview regarding the said issue

and . am as'ing you to be one of my respondents* . will be very glad if you give me

/ust a moment to gather information from you* 0henever is comfortable for you# it is

my pleasure to yield to your preferred date of interview*

. really discern the sensitivity of the matter but then rest assured that

everything will be used only for my study and will be held strictly con1dential*

&han' you very much for your cooperation and support*

Respectfully yours#

Cristian Lee R. RamirezResearcher

oted by3

Prof. Aurora Lynn T. Racmat&hesis )dviser

ote3&he researcher does not give an assumption and an overarching pre/udice about his interviewee

to be corrupt* Since the study is about politics# and since all politicians are at ris' of corruption# theresearcher sorts every politician as his ideal respondent*

ANNEX B

SUMMARY OF INTERVIEWS AND SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRE

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1) The first

respondent is a

member of the

Sangguniang

Bayan. He has

been in the

position for two

consecutive

terms. Before

running as

municipality

ouncilor! the said respondent has e"periences regarding politics when he entered barangay

election as ouncilor. #hen as$ed %why enter politics&' the respondent answered that he

wanted to follow the steps of his father being a mayor in the said municipality years passed.

(ccordingly! the respondent also added that because of the people wanting him to be in the

office! the said respondent had this motivating factor to participate in the municipal council.

#hen as$ed whether %politicians are powerful'! he replied that he is not powerful e"cept

when legislating laws and ordinances. He remar$ed that councilors will only approve

ordinances that are inline with their personal interests. *oreover! he defined %power' as

constituting the ma+ority. ,olitical corruption for him is dependent on the e"ecutive level.

That would mean a hierarchical pattern that when the mayor is corrupt- it follows then up to

the vicemayor! and so on up to the heads of offices. But there are however e"ceptions

because not all of the members are associates of the mayor. ust li$e him who re+ects the idea

of being corrupt because he does not have power to do so and because of the assumption that

88

On Interview

Position Assine! N"#e to t$e Res%on!ent

Sangguniang Bayan *ember /espondent 1Sangguniang Bayan *ember /espondent 0

(B ,residentBrgy. aptain /espondent 2

Barangay aptain /espondent 3

Barangay aptain /espondent 4

S5 6ederation hairperson /espondent

On S&rve' Q&estionn"ire

Position Assine! N"#e to t$e Res%on!ent

Sangguniang Bayan *ember /espondent 7

Sangguniang Bayan *ember /espondent 8Sangguniang Bayan *ember /espondent

Barangay aptain /espondent 19

Barangay aptain /espondent 11

(dministrative :fficer /espondent 10

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they ;between him and the mayor< have conflict regarding their currently proposed

pro+ect which is the gymnasium! that this pro+ect produces anomaly according to the

respondent. 6or him! political corruption is pervasive- almost all politicians are

corrupt. He defined political corruption in its conventional definition! that it is

destructive to the political ambition of the politician when tagged as corrupt. 6or him!

politicians are %sociali=ed thieves' or in his words! mga sosyal na kawatan. #hen

as$ed why he would not corrupt! he answered by saying! >?because it is immoral

and illegal@. However! he asserted that corruption is good as long as one should ma$e

sure of things he does! i.e.! he must not let others unravel the truth that he is

corrupting.

0) (fter finishing three terms from being the barangay captain in his locality! the ne"t

respondent also has office in the municipal council. He ran for ouncilor because of

his main advocacy that there must be a representation of their tribe %*anobo' in the

higher offices. He even added that his being a politician is not after all his sole

decision because he also wanted to e"tend the things that his then %Aatu' father

started. The respondent viewed power as influence. ,ower for him is bad! that it

results into the unfairness in the society. ,olitical corruption is very widespread that

almost all of the departments have reaped the fruits of corruption. However! there are

e"ceptions and he included himself to such. He said that he never had any relatives

who have been recommended by him into offices as casuals. He e"emplified

corruption in payroll padding and he never encountered such. Being a first termer in

the office of the municipal council! he said that he was still on the process of studying

the tactics or strategies of those politicians who were corrupt. He admitted that

corruption is pervasive and he even remar$ed that he corrupted but on the petty level!

he said.

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() The ne"t respondent is the president of the (ssociation of Barangay aptains (B).

He said that he never had plans in running for (B president but because of the

efforts of the people and the pushing through of the ongressman in the same district!

he was motivated to run. ,olitical corruption for him is the abuse of public power or

public trust and he condemns it. Same with the former respondent! the (B president

viewed power as influence. He even added that politicians have control over others.

#hen as$ed why he would not corrupt! the respondent answered >C foresee the

development of the place. C would not corrupt because it is illegal- and it is very hard

to corrupt because transparency in the barangay is present. Ct's a shame to corrupt two

thousand- if it's two million! perhaps C would be tempted to do so@. orruption is

wor$able depending on the cause of it. But beware because there are oppositions who

will tag a politician corrupt in every single anomalous detail so that the sympathy

transverses to these oppositions.

3) He is no new to politics. Cn fact! he had been an S5 chairman during his time. He has

a post of being a barangay captain for two consecutive terms. #hen as$ed why he

ran for barangay chairman! he answered that it is important to be popular! to have a

trade name. He even added that it is important to have connection to higher offices.

(side from his wants to help the community! he said that he also wanted to gain

power. Ct is a glory to be called %honorable' and as well as to have influence in letting

a relative to be in a position. Cn short! he viewed power as influence and control.

>,ublic office is a public trust@! he said. Being a politician means sharing ones time

in rendering development to the community. Being a politician is also being a

businessman in the sense that one gambles his effort! above all! his money! in

winning the election. But one must weigh the former than the latter. ,olitical

corruption for him is pervasive and not only is the politician corrupt but also the

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citi=ens. #hen in the case of political corruption! the respondent believes that the

oppositions who also will to have the position are the ones who are at ris$ for tagging

a politician corrupt. >#e cannot blame politicians? we can hardly find a way to

change what has been? 6ilipino is worth living for! not +ust worth dying for@.

4) The ne"t respondent has been a barangay captain for two consecutive years. He

entered politics because he wanted to legitimi=e his service. Ct is noteworthy that

before he entered politics! he already has the compassion to serve others. :ther than

that! he also wanted to continue what his father had started. 6or him! a politician is

the one who e"ecutes power and abuses it. The prime motivator for politicians to him

is money and according to him! >money is power@. He believed that political

corruption is already e"istent! people only deny this idea because of the negative

connotation it brings. Cn fact! the respondent asserted! >political corruption can be

viewed either good or bad- there's corruption through an honest to goodness

transaction@. Denerally! there are those who do corrupt because for him! there are no

budgets allocated to directly assess citi=ens who badly need them ;the money

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) This respondent is an S5 6ederation chairman. He said that he entered politics

because of his family who pushed him through to vie for a position. Ct was primarily

because of his family's interest that he entered politics. His li$eness to run was +ust

ne"t to his family's thought of letting him to be in the office. Same with other

respondents! this respondent viewed power as control over others and influence. He

also wanted to have power at least by ma$ing his decision be implemented. (t this

level of age! the respondent $nowledgeably asserted that political corruption is very

rampant in the society especially in the realm of Sangguniang 5abataan. #e cannot

escape from reality and the best alternative to do is to corrupt! that is! when used for

good ends. The only individuals who would tag a politician as %corrupt' are those

who do not benefit from it. However! he also said that we should not corrupt because

it is illegal we must have conscience. He then wrapped up the issue at hand by

saying that people are never msatisfied with what they have. ven the feeling of help

must be e"tended not all things being done by S5s are funded by the government.

A*ter %resentin insi$ts t$ro&$ interview+ t$e rese"r,$er "-so i#%"rts

!"t" "t$ere! *ro# s&rve' .&estionn"ire/

7) This respondent is a member of the municipal council. His parent had been the vice

mayor of the municipality! and when as$ed about his reason in entering politics! he

said that he wanted to follow the step of his parent and to help and serve his

constituents as well. He even added that he wanted to help the people to be closer to

the government and to e"plain further what the government can do to help the people.

(nother thought he shared why he entered politics is because he wanted to earn

money %of course'. /egarding power, this respondent said >it is vested only when

you assume an office! but this power is only limited when you are elected.@ #hen

abusing power! it results to devilish and poor performances of the said area. (s

viewed from his perspective! power then could be easily understood as a control over

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others because of the assumption that it must only be limited. (n abuse of power then

could be a manifestation of a corrupt society and a corrupt politician. Eot only are the

politicians corrupt but also the people or for him! the %voters' and this is best

e"emplified during election. #hen as$ed why he would not corrupt! the respondent

answered that >it is against the law of Dod and the law of the land@. (nd when as$ed

hypothetically >why would you corrupt&@ he said that he would corrupt because he

wanted to help his constituents and he wanted to give them livelihood. The idea that

could be rested out of this the %help' as a connecting factor why a certain politician

corrupts. Cn actuality! there are many supporters who are as$ing for support every

day! may it be incash or in$ind. (ccording to the respondent! if he would only

depend on his salary! it does not suffice to cater everyone's needs. ,olitical corruption

could either be beneficial or not depending on the usability it ta$es. (nd when it is

only for personal interest! it would not be helpful.

8) (fter his wife finished three terms in office! this respondent! the husband entered

politics. Cn his words! >C ran because C wanted to help the individual and the

community as a whole@. (side from heroic acts of help! this respondent added that it

is also an incitement to gain money. He never articulated a definition of power only

that he said that it is %good'. ,olitical corruption for him means %applying corruption

politically through their power'. (lbeit this respondent begged a little out of Fuestion!

he related corruption to the means of power. He would not corrupt because

accordingly! it is bad to the eyes of the constituents and to the almighty 6ather. (lso!

he added that the effect of corruption when tagged to him is that the people will not

vote for him in the ne"t election. Dood things happen out of corruption and many

people on the neighborhood could benefit as well.

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11) Three respondents shared the common notion regarding their reason in

running for an office! their conception of power in relation to political

corruption! and their re+ection on the idea of political corruption to be attached

to themselves. These include one councilor and two barangay captains. They

contended that they ran because of the people pushing them to be in the office.

:ne respondent added that she wanted to e"perience her father's involvement

in politics. The three agreed to the idea of gaining money from politics- there

must also be anticipation for disappointment because winning the position is

not a sure thing to achieve. >Iou have to gamble@! they say. ,ower could be

understood as the power of e"ecution- power is seen as good but when

overused! it results to political upheavals where political corruption enters.

*oreover! corruption according to these three is tied up with money where

most issues on corruption are issues on finances. orruption is pervasive

from the employees who report to their respective offices late to the

politicians who indulge in diversion processes. Ct is e"tremely forbidden

regardless of the economic status of the locality because it is not right and is

very immoral.

10) He is the administrative officer to the office of the mayor. *oney and power are only

but temporary- what is important for him is honor. ,ower is addictive and should not

be the motive of those running for public office. He defined corruption as a betrayal

of public trust. #hen as$ed why he would not corrupt! he answered that it is a moral

sin and is against the constitution. 6or him! >corruption is deeply rooted in our

democratic system. There is a need to change our political system.@

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