Malacañang underscored Thursday, Nov. 25 that the Philippines is of the same level as Japan and Singapore as far as the rating given to it by Transparency International's Government Defence Integrity Index is concerned.

Specifically, the Philippines garnered a "C" or a "modest" rating, Cabinet Secretary and Acting Presidential Spokesperson noted in a statement.

"We note Transparency International's Government Defence Integrity Index where the Philippines received a 'C' rating, or a 'modest' institutional resilience to corruption rating -- similar to the rating of more than 20 countries that include Australia, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, among others," Nograles said.

As if to acknowledge the modesty of the rating, the Palace official went on to highlight the bright side of Transparency International's assessment of the country’s defense and security sector.

"While there are areas mentioned by Transparency International that need improvement, such as policymaking and financial management, which the defense and security sector will review and consider to better their mechanisms, the civil society organization acknowledged that corruption risk mitigation in the Philippines is relatively robust in military operations," he said.

"We credit this to President Rodrigo Roa Duterte's zero tolerance against allegations of official malfeasance," added Nograles.

According to him, the Chief Executive has sacked numerous high-ranking military officials over alleged corruption activities taking place at a military hospital in 2018.

"In his weekly Talk to the People Address from November 2020 to June 2021, the President announced the dismissal of 261 and suspension of 187 government officials and employees," he said.

Nograles also mentioned the Philippines' Defense System of Management, "which institutionalizes the judicious and efficient use of resources in our defense acquisitions to ensure transparency and accountability in the procurement process".

He said that the President has likewise raised the level of professionalism of Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) personnel by promoting the welfare of our troops and ensuring they can focus on fulfilling their mandate of protecting the Filipino people.

"This relentless drive to have a clean, strong, and responsive government will continue until the remainder of the President’s term," the Cabinet Secretary said.