Davide: Business in Cebu to remain strong amid corruption

CEBU, Philippines - Cebu Governor Hilario Davide III is optimistic that business in Cebu will remain strong despite the Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey showing rampant corruption in Cebu’s public sectors.

“We are trying our best and we have the provincial investment promotion board to create a business climate friendly to the investors,” he said.

The Bureau of Customs was the only government institution that received the worst rating in terms of sincerity in fighting corruption, according to the latest survey released by the SWS in a roadshow in Cebu City Wednesday.

The SWS noted that the BOC alone earned a “very bad” rating from respondents in the private sector.

Out of 35 government institutions SWS asked respondents to rate, only the BOC received a “very bad” rating at -68 in terms of net sincerity in fighting corruption, dropping further from -55 in 2015. Since 2005, BOC’s rating has moved between “bad” to “very bad” with -75 to -68 during the time of former president Arroyo and -68 to -46 during Aquino’s time.

Davide said he was not surprised BOC got the worst rating, saying “dugay na man na ang BOC number 1.”

 He said corruption remains present in every sector and institution. He added that even at the Capitol, they have been receiving complaints on corrupt practices.

“Diri sa Capitol naa man pud corruption but we are trying our best to be transparent in pursuit of good governance,” he said.

The survey showed that 54 out of 100 respondents in Metro Cebu perceive that there is “a lot” of corruption in the public sector. For this year, SWS conducted the survey among 950 respondents nationwide from February 2 to May 6 across seven areas, including Metro Cebu, reflecting enterprise perception in the last few months of the Aquino administration.

For his part, Mandaue Chamber of Commerce and Industry president Glenn Soco admitted that if government agencies will not be able to eliminate corruption in their offices, business in Cebu would also be affected.

“Yes it will affect our competitiveness,” Soco said.

On the other hand, Soco said they believe that the corruption tag of government offices will be addressed by the administration of President Rodrigo Duterte.

“That’s perception and reality that needs to be addressed immediately. The business sector trusts President Duterte in minimizing, if not eliminating, corruption in government and that survey will pretty much guide the President where to look at,” he said.

“Generally, we want really to cut down red tape. This will improve ease in doing business in our country. The longer it is to process business permits, the more corruption there is. The more there is human intervention, the more susceptible it is to corruption. We would like government to invest in I.T. to automate all the systems in government and strengthen the laws and enforcement of our country to deal with corruption,” Soco said, in response to the question on what concerns they would want the government to look into in order to further boost the business industry.

Ted Locson, Jr., CCCI VP External Affairs, on the other hand, said BOC has been very helpful to them, particularly in looking into the logistical and bureaucratic issues.

“Customs in Cebu has been very cooperative in addressing the concerns of the members of the chamber and other stakeholders. In fact, a regular stakeholders’ meeting is conducted monthly as a venue to discuss issues and problems pertaining to processing of import and export certifications, port congestion, shipping practices among others,” he said. — Kristine B. Quintas and Carlo Lorenciana (FREEMAN)