Kleptomania is a pathological disease that makes the patient unable to control his urge to steal from others. "Kleptocracy" is a name that became popular to describe regimes of corrupt leaders like Suharto of Indonesia and Marcos of the Philippines.

Suharto and Marcos are believed to have amassed ill-gotten wealth of US$ 35-billion and US$ 5-billion respectively during their terms while being friendly with the United States.

Current US president George W Bush shares his nation's guilt when he recently announced, as if out of a bothered conscience, that the rich nations during the recent G-8 Summit in Russia vowed to fight kleptocracy worldwide.

They traced that poorer nation's inability to grow their democracy and economics is due to high level corruption of officials. They vowed to devise a system to identify these corrupt regimes world wide and to deny them access to the international financial system and thereby preventing them from defrauding their own people.

It becomes interesting to note that there are talks that the US Embassy in the Philippines had a direct hand in canceling the passport of controversial Agriculture secretary Jocjoc Bolante who is suspected to have implemented the illicit distribution of millions of Agricultural Funds to favored local officials ostensibly to help fund the election of president GMA in 2004.

Bolante has since applied for asylum with the plea that some NPA hit men are after his neck while Rotary International has distanced itself from its treasurer-member. Father Jerry Orbos, SVD, had chided Bolante for seemingly violating the first test of the Four-Way Test of Rotary of his official actions - and that is whether such acts are indeed "truthful."

In fairness, no conviction - much less a trial - has been done on the Agriculture Fund Scam, so-called.

Be that as it may, the US State Department had openly admitted that some US$ 1-billion in bribe money is being expended every year. The Philippines, according to Transparency International, is the 11th most corrupt nation in the world today.

That same group had classified four other "kleptocrats" in the world as Saddam Hussein of Iraq, Arnoldo Ateman of Nicaragua, Sam Abaden of Nigeria and Alberto Fujimori of Peru.

Back home, at one time in the past, the Fighting Gloria (GMA) was at center ring fighting corruption in the pillars of official theft in government - through lifestyle checks, dismissal and a few convictions. Crushing her proverbial opponents with sledgehammer hooks and thunderous uppercuts. Fighting Gloria at one time banned public officials from visiting night clubs and other places where girls oozing with sex appeal were the objects of desire. We wonder, if strictly implemented, if one single club will still be in business today.

That fight seemed to have fizzled - at least from the limelight.

At the height of the Escort Girls controversy, congress people, military officers and government-owned corporation officials were fingered (we mean, not in a naughty manner) as their prime clients. Keanna Reeves who has an assertive chest and possesses disappearing hemlines blew the whistle and many blue-blooded males were perspiring, their intestines thoroughly rearranged from stress.

Our very own second district congressman Roberto Cajes, at that point, hinted at the passing of a Code of Ethics for Congress. We wonder what happened to that? Cajes is chairman of the Committee on Ethics which our own governor Erico Aumentado likewise headed at one time while still a lawmaker.

Ninoy Aquino, fallen hero of the nation, had fought against corruption at the highest level and earned the ire of the Conjugal Dictator. He was imprisoned, exiled and fatally assassinated on his way back to country to prevent civil war from erupting with the impending death of the former strongman Marcos.

Twenty three years after Aquino's death, a large segment of those accused of wholesale graft and corruption in Marcos' time have never been hailed to court, much less convicted.

This explains part of the reason why corruption has become institutionalized and SOP becomes a matter of course in government transactions. "Weather weather lang yan," as the joke goes.

Still, the Philippine Star so boldly stated that the battle against corruption is a fight the nation cannot afford to lose. Amen to that.

With political will locally and the persuasive strength of the G-8 nations, especially the United States, could we see the dawning of a new era of clean government?

Or does this remain in the realm of wishful thinking?