MANILA, Philippines—However difficult it may be to swallow, the Philippines is perceived as one of the most corrupt countries in the world.
According to the latest Transparency International global corruption index, the country continues to be in the “highly corrupt’’ category, ranking 134th out of the 178 countries included in the index. In Asia Pacific, the Philippines occupies the 26th spot out of a total 33 economies.
But it is not too late to make a positive change. The Aquino government has six years to make good on its promise to drastically reduce, if not eradicate, corruption in the country. Given the current situation, however, this is quite a tall order. Impossible even, if government will be expected to do the job alone.
This is why various business groups have decided to help make this dream of an almost corruption-free Philippines come true.
Late last year, the European Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines and the Makati Business Club banded together to launch the Integrity Initiative, a four-year initiative that aimed to ensure integrity and good corporate governance among local businesses.
The Integrity Initiative urges local businesses to commit to exerting efforts to stamp out corruption in the country. It aims to identify issues that relate to integrity and transparency in business transactions, develop a Business Code of Conduct, create an Industry Integrity Pact that provides certain measures and controls to ensure integrity and transparency in business transactions, establish an audit and certification program for local firms, and institutionalize this entire process to promote long-term sustainability.
Since the initiative’s launch, ECCP executive vice president Henry Schumacher relates that around 170 companies “have pledged to run their business with integrity.
“Our focus is on the (chief executives). It’s not just about signing the pact, but walking the talk. They should have zero tolerance for bribery, and realize that long-term sustainability is better than short-term profit,’’ he says. “If you have integrity, you pay the proper taxes, do the right thing. The next step is to engage government. The Philippines can move up the Corruption Index if (these initiatives) can be done.’’
Ethical procurement
The Procurement and Sourcing Institute of Asia (Pasia) has also initiated a program that goes along the same lines as the Integrity Initiative, but is focused specifically on companies’ procurement activities.
The group is pushing for the certification of companies in the area of ethical procurement, similar to the recognition that the Institute of Corporate Directors bestows on companies that score high on its annual Corporate Governance Scorecard. The ICD ranks publicly listed companies’ performance vis-a-vis a set of corporate governance criteria.
Pasia chair Charlie Villasenor relates that his group plans to “knock on the door of every local company,’’ to educate them about the importance of ethical procurement standards and the benefits of sticking to aboveboard transactions.
“Ethical companies build a strong economy. We need ethical companies to have a strong country,’’ he says, adding that Pasia’s planned company certification scheme has more to do with recognizing local firms that are implementing best practices and high ethical standards in their procurement processes.
American Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines membership committee member Brian Lane says Pasia’s ethical procurement program also goes hand in hand with the Aquino government’s platform of “no corruption, no poverty.’’
He adds that the Pasia initiative should eventually show companies that being ethical in their dealings is more an advantage than a disadvantage.
“We need to balance this approach. Companies who decide to play by the rules may sometimes lose out to the bad guys, or those who decide to break the rules. The multinationals can take this, but not the small guys. They may be tempted and pressured to also break the rules. It’s important to balance the approach so they’ll realize that it’s better to be ethical in their dealings,’’ he says.
Price to pay
“There’s always a price to pay, of course, but we have to make people understand this and make them willing to pay that price. This could improve the Philippines’ reputation in the region and in the world,’’ he adds.
Villasenor says Pasia will soon come up with its ethical procurement scorecard, which will rank and recognize companies with the highest ethical procurement standards.
While targeting companies as a whole and their chief executives in particular, Pasia training programs head Walter Buczynski says one very important target of the initiative are the people on the ground who are actually making the day-to-day procurement decisions.
“You can have rules on ethics and even an ethics committee, but the bottom line is still with the day-to-day people who work for you. They are the ones on the ground making the decisions. You have to bring (the ethical procurement initiative) to the level where the decisions are made,’’ he explains. “You have to make people understand the ethical standards that you want to follow and achieve. You can do this by conducting trainings and leading by example.’’
Source: Inquirer.net
According to the latest Transparency International global corruption index, the country continues to be in the “highly corrupt’’ category, ranking 134th out of the 178 countries included in the index. In Asia Pacific, the Philippines occupies the 26th spot out of a total 33 economies.
But it is not too late to make a positive change. The Aquino government has six years to make good on its promise to drastically reduce, if not eradicate, corruption in the country. Given the current situation, however, this is quite a tall order. Impossible even, if government will be expected to do the job alone.
This is why various business groups have decided to help make this dream of an almost corruption-free Philippines come true.
Late last year, the European Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines and the Makati Business Club banded together to launch the Integrity Initiative, a four-year initiative that aimed to ensure integrity and good corporate governance among local businesses.
The Integrity Initiative urges local businesses to commit to exerting efforts to stamp out corruption in the country. It aims to identify issues that relate to integrity and transparency in business transactions, develop a Business Code of Conduct, create an Industry Integrity Pact that provides certain measures and controls to ensure integrity and transparency in business transactions, establish an audit and certification program for local firms, and institutionalize this entire process to promote long-term sustainability.
Since the initiative’s launch, ECCP executive vice president Henry Schumacher relates that around 170 companies “have pledged to run their business with integrity.
“Our focus is on the (chief executives). It’s not just about signing the pact, but walking the talk. They should have zero tolerance for bribery, and realize that long-term sustainability is better than short-term profit,’’ he says. “If you have integrity, you pay the proper taxes, do the right thing. The next step is to engage government. The Philippines can move up the Corruption Index if (these initiatives) can be done.’’
Ethical procurement
The Procurement and Sourcing Institute of Asia (Pasia) has also initiated a program that goes along the same lines as the Integrity Initiative, but is focused specifically on companies’ procurement activities.
The group is pushing for the certification of companies in the area of ethical procurement, similar to the recognition that the Institute of Corporate Directors bestows on companies that score high on its annual Corporate Governance Scorecard. The ICD ranks publicly listed companies’ performance vis-a-vis a set of corporate governance criteria.
Pasia chair Charlie Villasenor relates that his group plans to “knock on the door of every local company,’’ to educate them about the importance of ethical procurement standards and the benefits of sticking to aboveboard transactions.
“Ethical companies build a strong economy. We need ethical companies to have a strong country,’’ he says, adding that Pasia’s planned company certification scheme has more to do with recognizing local firms that are implementing best practices and high ethical standards in their procurement processes.
American Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines membership committee member Brian Lane says Pasia’s ethical procurement program also goes hand in hand with the Aquino government’s platform of “no corruption, no poverty.’’
He adds that the Pasia initiative should eventually show companies that being ethical in their dealings is more an advantage than a disadvantage.
“We need to balance this approach. Companies who decide to play by the rules may sometimes lose out to the bad guys, or those who decide to break the rules. The multinationals can take this, but not the small guys. They may be tempted and pressured to also break the rules. It’s important to balance the approach so they’ll realize that it’s better to be ethical in their dealings,’’ he says.
Price to pay
“There’s always a price to pay, of course, but we have to make people understand this and make them willing to pay that price. This could improve the Philippines’ reputation in the region and in the world,’’ he adds.
Villasenor says Pasia will soon come up with its ethical procurement scorecard, which will rank and recognize companies with the highest ethical procurement standards.
While targeting companies as a whole and their chief executives in particular, Pasia training programs head Walter Buczynski says one very important target of the initiative are the people on the ground who are actually making the day-to-day procurement decisions.
“You can have rules on ethics and even an ethics committee, but the bottom line is still with the day-to-day people who work for you. They are the ones on the ground making the decisions. You have to bring (the ethical procurement initiative) to the level where the decisions are made,’’ he explains. “You have to make people understand the ethical standards that you want to follow and achieve. You can do this by conducting trainings and leading by example.’’
Source: Inquirer.net
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