Committing to ethical business practices and good governance

I am - almost - sure, we all believe that corruption has been one of the biggest impediments to economic growth and prosperity in the Philippines and has been eroding the moral fiber of society.

As chief executives of established companies in the Philippines, we must acknowledge our companies’ responsibility to lead by example in the fight against corruption and to operate our businesses ethically and with integrity.

While the government has its own initiatives for reducing corruption, we realize that those initiatives cannot succeed without individual and collective commitment from businesses to level the playing field and to build integrity in the business environment.

If you agree so far, you should be willing to pledge the following:

• We will prohibit bribery in any form in all activities under our control and  ensure that our charitable and political contributions, business gifts, and sponsorships are transparent and will not be for the purpose of attempting to influence the recipient, whether government or private, into an improper exercise of functions, duties or judgment.

• We will maintain a code of conduct to guide our employees towards ethical and accountable behavior at all times, and will apply appropriate sanctions for violations of the code.

• We will conduct training programs for our employees to promote integrity, honesty, and accountability in the exercise of their duties and responsibilities and to convey with resolve our company’s commitment to ethical business practices.

• We will implement appropriate internal systems and controls to prevent unethical conduct by our employees, ensure good governance, and institutionalize the values of integrity and accountability in our business.

• We will maintain appropriate financial reporting mechanisms that are accurate and transparent.

• We will maintain channels by which employees and other stakeholders can raise ethical concerns and report suspicious circumstances in confidence without risk of reprisal, and a designated officer will be tasked with investigating all reports received.

• We will enter into integrity pacts with other businesses and with government agencies when dealing with procedures related to the bidding and procurement of supplies, materials, equipment and construction.

• We will refrain from engaging in business with parties who have demonstrated unethical business practices.

If you pledge this, you should also be willing to commit to:

1. support a nationwide initiative intended to create fair market conditions, transparency in business transactions and ensure good corporate governance;

2. participate in roundtable discussions, meetings and forums to identify the key concerns and current problems affecting the private sectors related to integrity and  transparency in business transactions;

3. share “best practice”, tools and concepts which are intended to be used by all  participating entities to achieve the goals of the nationwide Integrity Initiative.

To a large extent, the ‘pledge’ and the ‘commitment’ cited above form part of the Integrity Pledge of the Integrity Initiative Inc., introduced in2011. If you have not signed the ‘Integrity Pledge’ yet but believe that corruption is an impediment to economic growth and prosperity in the country and is eroding the moral fiber of society, I invite you to do it now. Email me at [email protected] and I will send you the pledge for signature immediately.