Aquino: Most Philippine, Asian firms not the ‘bad guys’

President Benigno Aquino III said Wednesday night the country and its Asian neighbors had been spared from the global turmoil sparked by the Wall Street protest assailing corporate greed and corruption because firms in this part of the world had been actively helping improve the lives of people.

Speaking at the 10th Asian Forum on Corporate Social Responsibility held at the Edsa Shangri-La hotel in Mandaluyong City, President Aquino said the  “Occupy Wall Street” movement which had initially expanded in the United States and now had struck European countries had seen people “protesting against companies that engage in what they deem to be the usurpation of regulation and, in some cases, democracy itself.”

Difficult times

The President added, “We see that these groups of people from different nations all share the same rallying cry: there must be accountability; there must be inclusive growth.”

The Chief Executive said it was difficult at this time “to be the head of a corporation, given that corporations seem to be portrayed as the bad guys in this latest global economic and social crisis.”

But he said it was not so in the country and among its Asian neighbors.

“When one looks at our part of the world, however, this is not the case. While of course there will always be exceptions, here in our region, corporations—especially the ones more active in their humanitarian endeavors—are generally seen in a positive light.

“The people recognize the value that business can bring to a nation; they see the opportunities and the possibilities, and realize that corporations and individuals can empower each other and partner toward the achievement of a just society,” President Aquino said.

CSR activities

The President said he believed that the good regard for companies in the Asian region was “partly because many Philippine and Asian corporations have been actively engaged in Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) activities.”

“Many, if not all of you present here today have made the conscious decision to play a greater role in the communities in which you do business. Realizing that you do not live and work in a vacuum, you have done your best to help ensure that the people living in the societies in which you operate are given the chance to live a more dignified life,” he said.

President Aquino urged business leaders to “exert even greater efforts to show the true face of Corporate Social Responsibility” by acting promptly on the concerns of the people.

Giving back

“We must foster the attitude of giving back, and of always remembering that the growth of companies—that the growth of economies—rely, in essence, on the empowerment of the people. No one must be left behind,” he said.

President Aquino assured the business leaders that they could rely on his administration as a partner in their effort, reminding them that they were working with “a government that is concerned, foremost, with the people,” and one that was spending a third of its national budget on social services.

The President noted that a lot of Philippine companies  were recognized for their efforts in corporate social responsibility activities.

“In the first time that I had an occasion to talk before you, not a single Filipino company managed to be awarded,” he said, drawing laughter from the audience.

He said he would “try to motivate” more local companies “to excel” so they could be recognized for their efforts.