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THE
Enron guys got it. Martha Stewart got it. But has any
“big fish” among unscrupulous businessmen got it? Not on
your life. Comeuppance in the law is a local holy grail
for the honest members of the business community.
Ramon R.
del Rosario Jr., chairman of the Makati Business Club (MBC),
said they believe that what will make entrepreneurs
become better citizens and avoid perennial sins like tax
evasion, bribery and smuggling is when they see
top-level business people going to jail for corporate
crimes.
“Nothing
will scare more the businessmen than seeing them going
to jail,” del Rosario said after hearing the
presentation of the Social Weather Station’s 2007
Business Survey on Corruption Friday at the Dusit Hotel
in Makati.
And
plugging all those tax revenue leaks plaguing the
government, some added.
The
poll, which covered 705 Filipino managers in Metro
Manila, Cebu, Davao, Calaba (Cavite, Laguna and Batangas),
and Cagayan de Oro, showed that 48 percent of the
respondents believe that “most/almost all the firms in
their line of business give bribes to win government
contracts,” and 22 percent say most of the firms also
give grease money to secure private sector contracts.
Also,
one of 12 managers see a lot of corruption in the
private sector.
Three of
five managers—a very high ratio according to
observers—also say they were asked for a bribe this year
in facilitating at least one of the seven index
transactions: local government permits and licenses,
national government permits and licenses, paying income
taxes, complying with import regulations, supplying the
government with goods and services, collecting
receivables from the government, and availing themselves
of government incentives.
In terms
of other business practices, only 50 percent of those
polled say that companies in their line of business
always demand receipts, and only 35 percent say they
always issue receipts.
The poll
also showed that only 24 percent believe that their
fellow businessmen keep only one set of books, and only
18 percent say they pay taxes honestly.
In the
face of all these, the survey revealed that the average
amount that managers are willing to put in to support
anti-corruption activities is only 2 percent of their
net income.
Also,
only two of five managers spent to fight fraud and
corruption in their companies putting out an average of
P292,000. Only one of five managers have also donated to
a private anti-corruption fund.
Del
Rosario said the dipping desire of business to combat
corruption is largely due to the failure of the system
and previous efforts to jail at least a big fish. “It’s
hard to see tangible results.”
Still,
del Rosario argued the business sector must do its own
share to erase the notion that corruption has become of
way of life here, especially if it wants to be
competitive globally. “This should not be accepted as
something that should stay with us.” |
