MANILA, Philippines – The country is “sick” and is “teetering on the brink of failure” due to rampant corruption, Supreme Court Chief Justice Reynato Puno said Tuesday.

To cure this, Puno said every Filipino should become “leaders.”

In a speech before doctors at the 39th Annual Convention of the Philippine College of Physicians, Puno cited “sobering statistics” from watchdog group Transparency International which, showed that the Philippines placed 141st among the 180 most corrupt countries in the world.

Puno also cited a study from Norway, which said that the Philippines had the most number of displaced residents due to the Moro insurgency in the south.

These figures, Puno said, were “sure signs of a state teetering on the brink of failure.”

“In our lives, we all commit mistakes, but in a society aching for reforms, the greatest mistake is the act of omission, the act of doing nothing when something is in your hands to make a difference. The country is sick. Is the doctor in?” he said.

The high court chief said moral rebirth would not be successful unless citizens stand up for what is right.

“We are all should be leaders,” he said.

Puno said he could contribute to the “moral force” that he was proposing by being true to their code of ethics, which calls for service to mankind regardless of race, creed or political affiliation.

“Given the nature of your profession, therefore, it may well be said that doctors are perfectly positioned to practice effective, empowering, and ethical leadership. Doctors deal with the patricians and the plebeians of our society, and they cannot avoid the moral spotlight,” he said.

“As doctors, your duty is not only to heal the physically sick but, as citizens also, you have the additional duty to uplift the morally afflicted, the responsibility to raise up the spiritual paraplegics in our society,” he said.