Private businesses involved as partners in government projects and other government transactions should be required to sign the Integrity Pledge.
The Makati Business Club has urged the Office of the President of the Philippines to issue an executive order to make it mandatory for private suppliers, contractors, and others doing business with government to take part in the Integrity Initiative.
MBC executive director Peter V. Perfecto, interviewed at the sidelines of the forum on Businesss and Anticorruption in ASEAN, said some government agencies hesitate to ask their bidders and suppliers to sign the pledge as they do not have the legal framework to demand it.
It was learned that so far only the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) has made this a requirement.
The Integrity Initiative Project was begun in 2010 by the Makati Business Club and the European Chamber of Commerce in the Philippines in order to help the government combat corruption, provide a level field for investors, and minimize unemployment in the country.
Any one signing the pledge commits himself to ethical business practices and good corporate governance, with the view that “corruption is one of the biggest impediments to economic growth and prosperity in the Philippines and has been eroding the society.”
Signatories are expected to prohibit bribery, ensure that charitable and political contributions, business gifts, and sponsorships are transparent; and refrain from engaging in business with parties who have demonstrated unethical business practices.
It doesn’t stop with taking the pledge, elaborates Perfecto. “It has to go through the assessment, validation and certification. Once we do the certification, the company signatory would have met a number of requirements in terms of integrity practices and integrity standards so that they will minimize the chances that bribery happens, collusion happens. We will also incorporate a mechanism wherein employees of the company and the general public can report any company if they are in violation.”
Photo: From www.competitive.org.ph