The Manila-based Asian Development Bank (ADB) is ramping up its anti-corruption drive, reaffirming a zero-tolerance stance on graft and stressing that strong, trustworthy partners are key to success.

“Corruption knows no borders. It is a global challenge that undermines confidence in institutions and slows progress,” said ADB president Masato Kanda during the multilateral lender’s International Anticorruption Day 2025 celebration on Thursday, Dec. 11.

“To secure that future, development requires more than planning projects and disbursing funds. It requires confidence that resources are used wisely, transparently, and for the benefit of all. Without such integrity, our work is fragile and short-lived,” he added.

Kanda stressed that the fight cannot be waged from an office tower alone, saying it demands strong, on-the-ground leadership.

He added that for the Asia-Pacific region, “the stakes are higher,” saying that “we are running out of time to lift people out of poverty and we cannot afford waste.”

“Every year, corruption diverts funds meant to pave roads, build schools, and shield the vulnerable from economic shocks,” Kanda said. “The loss of these funds is not an accounting error. It is a tax on the poor that siphons away the future.”

He added that corruption repeatedly erodes the crucial trust between citizens and governments across the region, warning that every Philippine peso, Indian rupee, or United States (US) dollar lost to graft is a direct theft from the communities that depend on support the most.

Kanda highlighted that the ADB is prepared to intensify its work with developing member countries (DMCs) to stop leakages and strengthen systems that prevent corruption before it starts.

He added that the bank aims to help build institutions resilient to fraud, ensuring that every development cent delivers real impact.

“At the ADB, we adhere to the highest international standards. But rules on paper don’t change culture. People do. We take anticorruption and integrity seriously. We require that our staff and stakeholders meet uncompromising ethical standards. We will not hesitate to act when those standards are breached,” he explained.

“If we act with urgency and honesty, integrity becomes a habit that protects the institutions we serve. And if we live these values consistently, we will build an Asia and Pacific region that is more open, more just, and free from corruption,” Kanda said.

Pasig City Mayor Victor Ma. Regis “Vico” Sotto highlighted the importance of fighting corruption by speaking out and rejecting practices that have long been accepted, saying that challenging norms entrenched for decades—or even centuries in some cases—is a crucial first step.

Sotto added that corruption is deeply embedded in both the country’s culture and institutions.

“Many times as Filipinos, we see something, but either we’re too afraid to talk or we don’t want to be inconvenienced,” he added.

He said that encouraging everyone to contribute is key, noting that changing people’s mindsets is equally important.

Sotto added that “we have to make sure that the things that we do are also not personality-based, we have to make sure that it’s longstanding and sustainable, we have to make sure that our reforms, in short, are institutionalized.”

He added the importance of the implementation of freedom of information (FOI) as well.

“So when we change everything, we follow the planning process, the budgeting process, the procurement process, and the proper implementation process until monitoring and evaluation (M&E). It sounds simple. It sounds easy. It sounds like that’s what you’re supposed to do. But in reality, no one was used to that kind of thing,” he added.

Sotto stressed that strengthening offices, along with capacity-building and learning and development programs, all play a vital role in fortifying institutions.

“One key thing as well is developing stronger and deeper partnerships, more meaningful partnerships with civil society,” Sotto said, noting that “I think that’s one of the key things that we need to focus on and we’ve been doing it.”

“If the institutions are stronger and the people are already expecting more and are also more capable to demand and to participate, then it becomes even just a little bit easier to maintain the reforms that we've started,” he added.

Open Contracting Partnership global infrastructure head and Asia-Pacific regional head Bernadine Fernz echoed Sotto’s remarks that corruption has become deeply ingrained in culture and institutions. “We see that everywhere in the world, it’s not just here in the Philippines,” she said.

On the data side, “I think what would be even cooler would be if you were to provide that information without having to wait for their request for information,” she said. “I think one of the really good practices that we’ve seen work in other places around the world is publishing data on all of your procurement, public spending... so that everyone can have access to it without having to request for it and that actually has exponential gains.”

She added that making information openly accessible reduces administrative burdens and prevents repeated requests. Over 60 countries worldwide have already adopted open contracting and open data standards in different ways and forms.

Fernz emphasized that the recently enacted New Government Procurement Act (NGPA) formally institutionalized open contracting. “So the NGPA actually name-checks open contracting so it now has to be something that has to be implemented here in the country,” she said.

“That’s another thing that helps to weather storms and to help create that kind of sustained momentum over time so that it becomes institutionalized and then hopefully over time it’s going to become a new culture and a new norm of anti-corruption and not the norm of corruption,” she added.

(Ricardo M. Austria)