Efforts until now have at best
created “islands of good governance”1
in certain sectors, some national
agencies, and LGUs. But these have
failed to translate into improvements
in the country’s overall state of
governance, nor have any significant
social impact. These “islands” are easily
swamped by high tides of impunity
and venality. The overall miserable
state of governance in the country
was attested by different measures.
The country’s percentile rank in the
six dimensions of governance in the
Worldwide Governance Indicators
(WGI) until 2009 remained
mostly within the lower half. The
worst performance was in political
stability, as the conduct and results
of previous national elections were
sharply contested amid allegations
of corruption. The result was an
alienation of the people from their