MBC: Drive vs corruption should not deter spending

MANILA, Philippines—The government should strike a balance between ensuring that its big-ticket projects are as corruption-free as possible and accelerating spending, as spending too slowly will cause the economy to crumble.

The Makati Business Club, which had earlier called on the government to accelerate spending after a year of not undertaking any major projects, reiterated that the fear of corruption should not deter the government from going ahead with its infrastructure spending.

The business group said “an extreme fear of corruption may cause the government to be frozen into inaction on much-needed infrastructure spending.”

“The primary message is that government spending, especially for infrastructure, should now be pursued more aggressively because it is essential to spur economic growth. We agree that the government should take all necessary and reasonable precautions to safeguard the integrity of its proposed big-ticket infrastructure projects, but it is also imperative that we start moving forward on the programs that will help lift our country from the clutches of poverty,” the MBC said in a statement.

This was not meant to either criticize the government’s slow spending due to efforts to quash corruption or condone certain corrupt practices in large government projects, the group said.

MBC said it acknowledged that “some risks exist that projects will not be 100-percent corruption-free.” In case some amount of corruption does infiltrate big-ticket projects, the government should just deal with it using legal means.

Also, the government should work closely with the private sector in striking a delicate balance between implementing important projects and eliminating corruption, the group added.

“What is important is that both the government and the private sector remain vigilant and continue to work together to ensure that these projects are not tainted by corruption at all stages of implementation. And if, despite our combined efforts, corruption manages to infiltrate the process, then we must make sure that violators are held accountable in court,” MBC said.

MBC and the European Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines play a lead role in curbing corruption both in the government and the private sector through the multi-sectoral Integrity Initiative.

Participants in the Integrity Initiative commit to shun bribery in any form, maintain a code of conduct for employees to pursue ethical business practices, and implement internal systems that will prevent any unethical conduct within their firms.

They also vow to maintain transparent and appropriate financial reporting mechanisms and to allow themselves to be subjected to audits should the need arise. They also commit to eventually enter into “integrity pacts” with government agencies and other businesses, especially in the area of procurement.

The goal is to eventually get government agencies to commit to accept only bids coming from “integrity-certified” companies. This is expected to encourage more companies to join the Integrity Initiative.

To date, more than 700 private companies and key government agencies have signed up for the Integrity Initiative. This number is expected to hit at least 1,000 before the end of this year.